Little Bird
by Deception'sChosen
Summary: For those of you who didn't like how sad Daddy Battosai was, here is a happier story. The first few chapters will be very familiar, but later, it changes. Normal growing stuff for the only Himura daughter and her three brothers. Problems arrise with love.
1. Chapter 1

**Little Bird**

Chapter 1

Himura Kenshin waited outside of the room where Megumi was busy delivering his and Kaoru's first child, biting a thumbnail and making Yahiko and Sano seriously consider knocking the agitated man out. It would save their friend from his anxiety, and their patience wouldn't have to be so strained. They shook their heads and let the man worry all he liked while they waited.

Kenshin, to almost everybody's surprise, had been keeping his fingers crossed for a girl the whole time that his wife was pregnant. He wanted a pretty little girl he could teach to cook and do laundry, a little angel who would ride on his shoulders and call him 'daddy'. In his mind, he saw a miniature Kaoru, with his violet eyes and ready smile. He even had a name picked out for her: Kaen. Flowery Grace.

Kaoru swore up and down that she was going to have a boy, because the baby was always moving and turning. Her heart was set on a little boy who had Kenshin's bright red hair and talent for sword craft. She was stuck between two different names: Genro or Koji. Phantom Wolf or Young Victor.

After four hours of waiting, Kenshin finally call to him and tell him that he could come in. The red haired swordsman almost knocked the doctor over in his rush to get inside. He smiled at Kaoru and looked at the baby expectantly.

"Well? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Kaoru laughed at the look of delighted suspense on her husband's face. She handed him the baby, smiling as he shifted his grip to support the baby's head as if he had held thousands of babies in his lifetime.

"It's a girl."

Kaoru was a little disappointed, but also thrilled at the sight of her baby. Kenshin's face split into a grin as he looked at the little bundle in his arms. She had pale skin like her mother, and a wide forehead. A shock of red hair grew out of her scalp, and when she opened her eyes for a moment, he saw that they were brilliant purple.

_A little different than my original thought, _Kenshin mused, smiling at the baby and his wife, _but she is mine. And she is beautiful._

"What do you want to name her, Kaoru?"

Kaoru looked away slightly, her cheeks pink.

"I never thought of any girl names… I was so sure that she was going to be a boy… Do you have any names?"

Kenshin grinned and bounced into a chair.

"Yes, this one has a name for her. Kaen. This one thinks it is a suiting name, that he does."

Kaoru smiled and brushed back the baby's red hair.

"Kaen it is. Why you go show her to Sano and Yahiko? They'll love meeting her."

Just as she predicted, as soon as Kenshin walked out the door, Yahiko and Sano jumped to their feet and smiled. The red haired wanderer held the baby so they could see her and grinned.

"Yahiko, Sano… Meet Himura Kaen."


	2. Chapter 2

**Little Bird**

Chapter 2

Kenshin delighted in his daughter, finding joy in her every laugh, smile and blink of her wide violet eyes. When Kaoru used to nurse Kaen at night, he couldn't help but watch for at least a moment. Now the baby could eat rice gruel and boiled down fish. He would carry her into town, whistling a tune to her and occasionally spinning with her held up over his head. When Sano said that she would never learn to walk if her feet never touched the ground, he smiled.

"Then you will learn to fly then, won't you little bird?"

He spun with the child, who shrieked happily, reaching for her father with her chubby little hands. Sano had laughed, half believing that the child would sprout wings and take off as Kenshin spun her.

He did notice, however, that while Kaoru cared for the child diligently, she treated it as a job, rather than taking joy in her motherhood. She had very much desired a son, and was rather disappointed in Kaen. When Kenshin brought up the idea of teaching her to use a sword when she was older, the dark haired woman rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room with a dark look at the child. This worried Kenshin to no end, so one day while Kaoru was teaching her class in the new dojo, he slipped off with the baby to find Megumi.

He found the woman in her clinic as always, and handed Kaen over for inspection while a nurse cooed over how beautiful the baby was. He smiled and stood a little straighter when he heard the praise. Yes, his Kaen _was_ the most beautiful baby in the world, thank you very much.

When Megumi put the baby back in her sling and handed her to Kenshin, she noticed that the red haired man had something on his mind.

"Tell me what's wrong, Ken-san. Something's bothering you."

Kenshin shifted his weight from foot to foot for a minute before answering, taking Kaen from her sling and bouncing the baby, who had begun to fuss.

"It's Kaoru… This one thinks that she is disappointed in the birth of our daughter. It's like she likes Kaen, but doesn't take any joy in her. This one is always frightened when Kaen crawls off on her own, but Kaoru just doesn't seem to worry… Like she… doesn't care…"

Megumi smiled sadly, patting the baby's smooth red hair.

"It's true. Kaoru has told me that she is very disappointed in the birth of Kaen. She wanted a boy very badly, and Kaen is a daddy's girl already. She says that Kaen is happiest when you are holding her, that she feels like an intruder when she's holding her. Maybe you should have another baby. It's been a year, it would be safe."

Kenshin thought it over, and then nodded. As he walked home with the ingredients for the evening meal, Kaen napping in the sling on his back, he considered the options. If he was too up front with proposing the idea of having a second child, he may be beaten with an umbrella or worse, yet if he was too vague…

Kaoru was standing in the door of the house when they arrived. She smiled and took Kaen from her sling and tucked her into her crib, giving her cheek a gentle pat before turning to help her husband unload the groceries. She suddenly stopped moving and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Kenshin?"

"Yes? What is it Kaoru?"

The woman absently turned a radish over in her hands before answering, her voice low.

"I'm pregnant again."

"Oh! Excellent! Perhaps we will have a son this time! That would make this one very happy, that it would. And you would be pleased too, right Kaoru?"

"Yeah. Keep your fingers crossed for a boy this time, eh Kenshin?"

_That was easier than I thought it was going to be… Now I just wait for nine months and see what happens!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Bird**

Chapter 3

As Kaoru entered her fourth month of pregnancy, Kaen uttered her first words. Not long after she started talking, she was left with her 'uncle' Sano and 'cousin' Yahiko for a few hours of the afternoon. Kaoru was tired and so was Kenshin, both finally agreeing that a few hours without their daughter would be good for both of them. When Kenshin opened the door of Sano's small shack, he had no idea that his daughter would have learned a new word. The best word a baby could say if front of her father after she had been watched by his close friends the whole afternoon.

"Basta'!"

Kenshin had scooped her up and was holding her eye level when she let it fly. His eyes went wide and he tipped his head, not quite sure he had heard right.

"Yahi'o, basta'!"

Yup. He'd heard right. The red haired rounin turned a glare on Sano and Yahiko, both of whom looked away immediately. He took a slow step forward, making the rooster haired man take a step back while the short teen looked around hastily for a retreat route.

"Yahiko… How did Kaen come across that word?"

Yahiko muttered that he had gone into town at one point and had taken the little girl with him. He stopped after a moment, his eyes on his feet. Kenshin saw his young friend's cheek was scraped and he had a slight black eye, along with a swollen lip.

"You got into a fight, did you?"

"A f-fight? No, what gave you that idea?"

The words flew out of Yahiko so fast that the rounin was mildly surprised that he didn't get tongue-tied halfway through. The older man sighed and turned away, deciding that it would be a waste of energy to try to drag the whole story out of the boy.

Shifting Kaen to a more comfortable spot on his hip, he leveled another glare at the pair.

………………………………………………………………………………

(five months later)

Kaen sat on the floor of the clinic, playing quietly with a brightly painted top, occasionally looking at the door that hid her mother from sight. She would look at the door with an almost bored expression, then smile up at her father. The red haired man would give her a wan smile, then continue his worrying.

The little girl yelped in surprise when Sano's large hands wrapped around her and scooped her up onto his knee, turning the girl so she was facing him. When he smiled, she laughed and twisted herself until she saw her father's profile.

"C'mon, kid. Daddy needs to be alone for a little while. Let's get something to eat. How does grilled eel sound to you?"

Kenshin smiled at his daughter's enthusiastic reply, nodding to Sano as they left. The older man knew that Kenshin was worried, and that his temper could sometimes get the better of him when he was in this state. Kaen, with her child's impatience, had been complaining of boredom and hunger for the past two hours, and Kenshin wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth the next time she started talking.

Twenty minutes later, Kenshin looked up when he heard the cries of a baby. He was already halfway to the door when Megumi came out to fetch him. She laughed and stepped aside to let the man in.

Kaoru smiled, her face shining with sweat and pride. The redheaded man looked at the bundle in his wife's arms and nearly tripped.

Inside was a little boy with black fuzz growing out of his head, which was the size of a large apple. He looked larger that Kaen had been when she was born…

"So, Kaoru, I named our Kaen. What will you name our son?"

Kaoru smiled down at the little boy, her lips pursed in thought. Finally, she ran a hand over his tiny scalp and spoke.

"Genro. His name is Genro."

Kenshin took the baby out to show the others, smiling when Kaen and Sano came in, each holding a bowl of steaming eel. The little girl tipped her head at the baby, her nose wrinkling.

"Kaen, this is Genro. He's your little brother, little bird."

The girl sighed, then nodded at the baby, her eyes unreadable. Kenshin didn't like his daughter's silence and closed expression. He had thought his daughter would be thrilled to meet her brother… She was certainly excited when her parents told her that the baby would be coming soon. He resolved to talk to her when the two went home while Kaoru stayed the night at the clinic.

Back at their house, Kenshin sat next his daughter while they ate their dinner. He looked over and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Rather than eating with her usual gusto, she had taken only a few small bites before setting her food aside. Knowing that Kaen was never one to turn down food, he began to feel worry worming its way into his heart.

"Is there something wrong with your food, little bird?"

Kaen shook her head, then looked up at her father with the most serious expression he had ever seen on the girl's face.

"Will Genro… Take my place?"

"Oro? What do you mean? This one doesn't understand what you're asking."

The little girl stood, picking up her bowl and setting it in the kitchen, where she knew her father would pick it up. When she came back, she wouldn't look at him when she spoke, preferring to talk to her feet.

"Genro's a boy. You'll love him more than me, won't you? I know Mama does, but… so will you."

Oh, so _that_ was what was bothering her. She thought that the arrival of a son would take his affection away from her entirely. He smiled and pulled her onto his lap, snuffling her ear, making her shriek. The girl was so ticklish, he was surprised that her mother and he could bathe her without causing a fit of laughter.

Turning serious, he looked her in the eyes, violet meeting violet, and smiled.

"If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anybody?"

The girl nodded, her smile creeping back onto her face. Kenshin leaned slightly and whispered in her little ear.

"Even though Genro is a boy, _you're_ my favorite. You're my little bird, right?"

He sat up again, smiling at his daughter while she thought on what he had said. Keeping silent, she made a twisting motion with her hand in front of her tiny mouth, as if turning a key in a lock. He smiled and nodded.

"Now, little bird, it's time for you to go to bed."

"Awwww, Da-aaddy!"

He laughed, then helped her change into her sleeping clothes, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before closing the door behind him as he left her room. He knew that she would grow to love her little brother, and whatever siblings happened to come along after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Little Bird**

Chapter 4

Kaen spent most of her time with either her father or her with her adopted uncle, Sano. Her mother tried to get her daughter to wear the pretty little kimono that were made, but more often than not, she would end up dressing her in hakama like her father wore. At six, she was taller than most children her age and wore her hair in a loose ponytail, when she bothered to do anything at all with it.

Kenshin picked up the buckets he used for shopping and went around to the dojo to ask Kaoru what she wanted him to pick up at the market. His youngest son, one year old Ken, was sitting in the corner with his sister watching Genro get some of his first lessons in kendo. Kaen's lesson had finished a few hours ago, and she had already changed her clothes and bathed. Now she was waiting for her father to announce that he was going to the market.

"Kaoru? What do we need from the market today? This one is going out to get the things for dinner."

Kaen jumped to her feet as her mother answered.

"Miso, salt and soy sauce,"

"Always the heavy things…"

"and some rice and radishes." She finished as if she hadn't heard her husband.

Kenshin turned to leave, his eyes on his daughter.

"Well, we have our list, this one supposes that we should hurry and go before everything is gone. Are you coming along, little bird?"

Kaen nodded and fell in step beside her father, rattling off all the interesting things that had happened from the bug she had found in her bath to what color clothes everybody was wearing to the American that had visited. He bit his lip as she wondered out loud if the Americans had such big noses for a reason.

"Well, this one suggests that you do not ask. The Americans probably think we have strangely small noses."

Kaen giggled as they continued to walk into town. As more and more people came into view, Kaen's smile got brighter and brighter. She shouted when she saw a boy about a year older than her wearing green and white, his hair cut short.

"JIN!"

She looked up at her father, who nodded and made a shooing motion.

"Meet me in three hours at the Paper Fan."

"Yes Daddy!"

Kenshin had named the American store that sold sweets because he knew that she could find it easily. She rarely got any sweets, but she would spend a long time sitting in front of the store smelling the warm chocolaty air.

He watched her take off after her best friend, who held out a pretty seashell he had found that day. After examining it, they began to run again, chasing each other through the alleys and merchant stalls. Every now and then they stopped to talk to somebody who had a message for their parents and gave them a treat before they continued on their way. When Kaen's eyes locked on a group of American sailors, Jin shied back. The foreigners always made the boy nervous with their strange eyes and loud voices. Kaen couldn't get enough of them though.

When one of the sailors saw her, he shouted out her name and put down his heavy bag so he could bow to the little girl. She stared openly at his short trimmed yellow hair and long pointed face as he straightened. He was over six feet tall, which was amazing to the little girl. She spoke slowly in the hopes that he would understand her.

"Do you need help finding anything, Baijiru-san?"

The man's real name was Bailey, but because of the lack of an 'L' in the Japanese language, he had accepted the name 'Baijiru' from the Himura family. He had instantly fallen in love with the little girl who smiled like his little sister back home.

"I think I found everything. How are you?"

His Japanese was stilted and simple, but Kaen smiled and clapped her hands.

"Your Japanese is so much better! Good job!"

Jin rolled his eyes and muttered that it wasn't that good. His friend glared at him, then turned back to the American.

"What did you buy?"

The man opened his bag and took out a beautifully painted doll in a pink and yellow kimono and then drew out a short wooden sword.

"For my little brother and sister. Will they like them?"

Kaen, her eyes locked on the doll dressed in her favorite colors, nodded vigorously. Jin looked at the sword and nodded once. He had to admit that the man was smart enough to pick good gifts.

"Come on Kaen, Tae-san might give us something to eat if we hurry."

Kaen's eyes lit up at the thought of food and she bowed to the American.

"Goodbye, Baijiru-san! We're getting lunch now! I hope your sister and brother like the gifts!"

The American waved as the two dashed away, putting the sword and the doll back into his bag. He would miss Kaen and her family when he was gone…

"TAE-SAN!"

Both children came bursting into the restaurant, shouting for the owner's daughter at the top of their lungs. The woman hushed them, laughing, then sat them down with a smile and a promise of their favorite braised beef.

"Why do you talk to the foreigners, Kaen? They are so stupid…"

"Because I want to know more about them. They're different from us, but some things are very much the same. They're interesting."

"What ever you say…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Little Bird**

Chapter 5

Kaen's interest in foreigners didn't fade with age. When she was seven, her next little brother was born. Asuma was a small baby, always seeming to have ear infections and head colds, but she found that she liked taking care of the boys when they were ill. Megumi always asked if she wanted to come help her with sick children, but she would shake her head no. She wasn't ready to leave her father and mother just yet for long periods.

Kenshin saw his daughter talking to the foreigner's children, who called Jin a crybaby, the children towered over her, laughing at the redheaded 'Jap' and her friend. He heard her voice take on an angry tone and decided to stay nearby in case of trouble.

"Leave us alone!"

"What are you going to do, hit us with your wooden sword?"

"I could beat you into the dust with my eyes closed."

The biggest boy stepped up. His pock-marked face twisted into a leer, revealing yellowing teeth with wide gaps between them. Jin was standing slightly behind Kaen, then tried to shift in front of her, but was roughly pushed aside by the larger boy.

"I ain't talkin' to you. Your little girlfriend here has a mouth on her… It's kinda funny. But can she back it up?"

Kaen drew her sword and held it in front of her, but the bigger boy swatted it out of her hand and shoved her backward. Once she regained her footing, she looked at him closely, observing how he was standing and holding his weight. She stood straight up again and spread her feet wide apart, holding up her little fists.

The boy laughed and took a swing at the smaller girl, his eyes going wide when she ducked and kicked the back of his knees. The taller boy tumbled to the ground, but was up in a moment. He picked up Kaen and put her so their noses were nearly touching. Suddenly Kaen's head pulled back and she slammed her forehead into the boy's nose, while her foot snapped out, striking him in the groin, bringing forth a spray of blood from his nose as he dropped her.

Jin cheered when Kaen stood, striking a pose that was oddly familiar to Kenshin. Then his mind clicked on only one person who could gutter fight like that… Sano. He would have to have a little talk with Kaen's usual babysitter about her antics. No doubt the man would be proud of the girl taking out a boy so much bigger…

"Kaen."

His daughter jumped, spinning around with a wide smile and a slightly dazed look in her eyes. Apparently her skull was nowhere as thick as Sano's. He sighed and gave her a push homeward, shooting the other children a glare and waving my arms at them.

"Shoo. Go home, before _I _decide to teach you a lesson in fighting."

That was an empty threat of course, but the children scattered.

"Come on Kaen. We'll go talk to Sano, then go home. You get to explain this one to your mother…"

Kaen went slightly pale. This was not going to be a fun night…


	6. Chapter 6

**Little Bird**

Chapter 6

Kaen sat on the floor while her mother examined her, alternately scolding and expressing amazement of the fact that the boy she had taken down was so much bigger than her. Kaen's wrist was swelling, and Kaoru wasn't sure if it was broken or just sprained. She would wrap it for tonight, then go to Megumi if it wasn't looking better in the morning. She looked up when she heard a soft knock. Kenshin opened the door, his face faintly confused.

There in the doorway stood the tall English boy that Kaen had fought earlier. His eyes were swollen and dark, and his lip was split, but he wore a slight smile when he caught Kaen's eye. The smaller girl smiled back and stood with her mother as Kaoru stood and patted her on the head, saying she had to go check on the boys. Kaen walked to stand a little behind her father and smiled when the boy bowed.

"Sorry for earlier… If… If you aren't doing anything tomorrow, come to the docks. Me 'n my gang always is there. You're one of us now. Nobody's beat me in a fight before…"

Kaen grinned and looked up at her father, expecting praise and permission to go out and play with her newfound friends. However, his oddly stony face told her that she would have to tread very carefully to convince her father that these were good friends. He never liked foreigners, and the fact that she had gotten into a fight still irked him.

"What's your name?"

Kenshin's voice was cool. He didn't really want Kaen to be running with the pack of urchins that had tried to hurt her and Jin. He also didn't like the smile he was giving his daughter. It was too happy. Grr.

"Alan. Just Alan, sir."

Kenshin said nothing. Kaen stepped forward and grabbed the boy's arm and started to drag him out of the house, showing him the dojo and all the other things, including her brothers. By the end of a few minutes, Kenshin noticed that his children had given him another name. Bear.

Genro seemed to think that the fact his sister had taken out the larger boy was amazing and asked how she had done it. When she got to the part about him knocking her wooden sword out of her hands, Bear's eyes went wide.

"Oh no! I ment to bring it back for you!"

Kaen smiled and shrugged, saying that it would be easy to find tomorrow. Bear apologized again, then blushed when Kaen grabbed his hand and started to pull him back to the house.

"I have an idea! Ask Mother if she will teach you how to use a sword! That way, we can take our class together once you get the basics down! Come on, it'll be fun!"

Bear nodded and formally asked Kaoru to be his teacher. The woman was a little surprised that a foreigner wanted to learn, and knew that her daughter was behind it. She shook her head with a little laugh. Kenshin wasn't going to like this at all.

The next day, Bear was given a yukata, hakama and a wood practice sword.

Kenshin still growled when Kaoru told him that the boy showed talent, and seemed to take advice from both herself and Yahiko well. She gave a sly smile and leaned a little closer to her husband, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"And he was so funny when he and Kaen were eating together today. Every time Kaen looked away, he would look at her. I think he's got a little bit of a crush on her. Isn't that sweet?"

She saw Kenshin's lips press together a little tighter, and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"Wasn't Bear the one that you said was always teasing Kaen when you two would be in town? Classic little boy behavior."

She laughed and rested her head on Kenshin's shoulder with a sigh. She knew that they would never allow Kaen to be involved with a foreigner, but they were only children. Seven and nine. Babies, really. Nothing to worry about. She would never rebel against her beloved father's rules to be with a foreigner… Would she?


	7. Chapter 7

**Little Bird**

Chapter 7

Kaen sat up in her futon, rubbing her eyes and listening to see if any other people in the house were awake. Nobody, even her early rising father, was awake yet. She looked out the window and saw that the sun was barely staining the sky pink.

"Every time…"

She always woke up before everybody else, and she rarely got more than four hours of sleep a night. She and her father had tried everything they could think of. Hot baths right before bed, warm tea, herbal remedies, you name it. She even tried sleeping in rooms other than hers. She tried sleeping in Asuma's room, then Ken's, then Ganro's. No luck there, she tried sleeping in the bathhouse, the dojo and the roof. That didn't work either. She looked over toward the dark shape that was the well and shivered.

"Nuh-uh. I am _not_ going to sleep near the well."

She could hear the bell ringing on the charm that her father had made three years ago, when she was seven, to ward off the demons that Sano had convinced her were living in the well. She didn't really believe in the demons in the well anymore, but she still had some nameless fear of the well. Even seeing somebody else standing at a well made her shake.

Finally she stood and tied her robe tighter around herself. If she was awake anyway, she might as well do something. She took another look at the well and smiled. She would go out to the well, sit down next to it and get over her fear. Even better, she would sit on top of the cover! Wouldn't her parents be surprised!

She climbed out her window, shivering a little from both fear and cold as her bare feet touched the chill ground. She walked to the well quickly, muttering under her breath that she was safe, that there were no demons or anything that would drag her down and eat her… Okay, so maybe she _did_ still believe in the demons in the well…

She crawled up onto the slick lid, holding her breath as she sat on the old wood that creaked and groaned under her.

"Oh, hush. I'm not that heavy."

She crossed her legs and arms and looked around, shaking as that mind numbing fear gripped her. She kept telling herself that there was no danger from the well, and shifted her weight.

There was an earsplitting crack, and Kaen tumbled down into the well's deep dark water with a shower of splintered wood.

"DAA-AA-AAADYYYYY!!!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Little Bird**

Chapter 8

Kaen screamed as she fell, her nails scrabbling in an attempt to slow her fall. She hit the water with a crash and waited for a moment before screaming again.

"DAAA-AA-AADYYYYY!!!"

She spun wildly, looking around. Too dark. It was too dark down there. She could see a small circle of sky, doing little good in lighting her prison. She looked down, quite sure that she heard a growl from below. She dug her fingernails into the stone walls, trying to find a handhold so she could try to climb out. She got two feet out of the water, then yelped as two fingernails came free of their fingers, making her slip and fall right back into the water. Tears streaming down her face, she took a deep breath and cried out again, shouting like a frightened child.

"MOMMY! DADDY! HELP ME!"

Some part of her mind criticized her for using the term 'mommy' in her fear. She had never called her mother 'mommy', they just weren't that close. But the rest of her was going to say whatever it wanted if there was a chance of getting out of the well faster.

"YAHIKO! SANO! MEGUMI! DADDY!"

She was shivering, and her robe was heavy from all the water it had soaked up. She kept crying, kicking her feet as she began to panic. Nobody was coming for her, and she was going to die down there in that well. Her father would look for her later, only to find bones and a robe floating in the water.

She looked up to shout again and saw the faint light was blocked by a head and shoulders. She cried out and reached her hand up. She laughed, a little hysterically, when she heard her father's voice.

"Hang on, Kaen! I'll be right back!"

Kaoru appeared in Kaen's sight and the girl was never happier to see her mother.

"Mother! Get me out!"

"Daddy's going for a rope. He'll be right back."

When Kenshin got back, Kaoru ran to the bathhouse and lit the fire, then ran for warm clothes. She stepped back outside to see her husband pulling on a rope, Kaen's head appearing over the edge of the well. Once she was all the way out, the girl launched herself, soaked and cold, onto her father, still crying so hard that she could hardly breathe. She looked up from her father to see her mother. She let go of her father, walking over to her mother and jumping on her.

"Oof! Calm down, Kaen. I have a bath warming for you. Go back to your father and wait until I come back."

Kaen obiediently let go and went back to Kenshin, who was sitting on the ground, and sat in his lap. The red haired man wiped her face with his sleeve and smiled.

"You're alright, little bird. Whatever made you come out here? You knew the wood was rotting on the well."

Kaen held still while Kenshin gently pulled a splinter out of her eyebrow, wincing when he started to tug at one at the corner of her mouth.

"I know. This one's going to sting…"

"It's okay… I wanted to not be afraid of the well anymore…"

Kenshin smiled and kissed his daughter's forehead, standing up when Kaoru approached.

"Go take your bath and get dressed. You don't want to be late for going into town, do you?"

"No."

She walked into the bathhouse and got in the tub.

She never went to the well again. She could still hear the demons laughing under the water, feel their cold hands, smell their breath… She knew that she was causing difficulties for her mother and father because of her unreasonable fears, but they never said anything. She was grateful for that.

A/N

Hey everybody! I hope this is living up to standards for everybody. I have gotten lots of great reviews from people. THANK YOU! I love getting reviews! It's like getting extra big Halloween candy! (Coming from a 19 year old… --;) I can't help it, I love Halloween. But I love reviews and readers too!

Keep reading! Enjoy!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Little Bird**

Chapter 9

Kaen stood up from her birthday breakfast, thanking her father for letting her not cook. Kenshin just smiled and helped Kaoru clear the dishes. He watched her walk out of the room, calling that she had to change so that she could go see Bear in town before they had their swords class together.

The red haired man was struck with a slight pang of sadness as she slipped into her room, her long hair, so like his own, trailing down her back. His Kaen, his little bird, was fourteen. Nearly a woman grown… Most of her few female friends were getting married and starting families, but she seemed determined to do only three things. One, terrorize her younger brothers, who often terrorized her. Two, learn swords. Three, to go off to see Jin and Bear. After the fight that had gotten her in so much trouble, the three became inseparable, becoming the leaders of a group of children their age and causing equal parts trouble and happiness. She always came home with a funny story, telling her parents and brothers about the two boy's antics, trying to figure out why the two did stupid things when she was around…

Kaen came out of her room in a dark green kimono with her hair tied with a grey ribbon. With her hair tied high on her head, rather than low like she usually wore it, she really looked more like Kaoru than her father. She smiled and promised to bring Bear with her in time to get ready for their class.

"She still hasn't figured it out, Kaoru."

"Figured out…? Oh, you mean Bear and Jin trying to show off for her. I think it's sweet really."

Kenshin growled at the thought of any boys getting any ideas in their heads about his daughter. Still, she was almost the right age to be getting married.

_Maybe Kaoru and I should start looking into matches for her… She is the right age to fix something up…_

Kaoru, seeming to read his mind, put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"We still have some time, Kenshin. She's not sixteen yet."

…………………………………………………..

Kaen crept up behind Bear, who now stood nearly six feet tall, raising her hands high up to snag his yellow hair. When he felt his hair tug, he turned and smiled. He had grown handsome over the years, even though he still had a scarred face from different skin afflictions he had as a child. At sixteen, he had become the largest and strongest of their group of friends, but Kaen remained the smartest and Jin was the fastest. When he heard Kaen's familiar laugh, Jin, now fifteen, wearing a plain grey yukata and hakama, turned and smiled. He had grown to be quite tall too, but was whip thin. Both had small gifts in their hands, and both wanted her to open theirs first.

When Kaen accepted the gifts and tucked them into her robe, the boys objected loudly, saying that she had to open them. Kaen made a face and pulled the gifts out again, taking care to pull on the strings that would open them at the same time. No reason to have the boys get into another fight. She knew her mother was amused by their constant battles, and her father glared at them both when they came to the house to visit, butshe didn't understand the reason the boys fought when she stood too close to one of them or grabbed both boys hands while they were walking. She had always done that, because they were close, almost like siblings.

Bear had found a tiny glass bird for Kaen's gift, while Jin had bought her a jade disc on a thin beaded cord to hang around her neck. She thanked them both and hugged them, not thinking when she hugged Jin first. As they walked, she didn't need to look at them to know they were glaring daggers at each other.

_I'll ask Mother about all this later. After class…_


	10. Chapter 10

**Little Bird**

Chapter 10

Kaen waved goodbye to Bear as he walked away from the dojo, promising to meet up with him and Jin in a few hours at their regular dockside haunt. When he smiled over his shoulder at her, she looked down to hide the faint coloring of her cheeks. It wouldn't do to have her little brothers see her blush because of a boy… They would never let her be if they found out how she felt about the older boy.

She turned when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder and smiled up at him. He smiled back and ruffled her hair, telling her that her mother wanted to talk to her while she cleaned up before lunch. Kaen nodded and giggled when her father prodded her in the back with one of the bamboo swords to get her moving.

In the bath, Kaen wasn't sure if her mother was coming to talk to her or not. She sank down until she was entirely underwater, keeping her eyes open to watch how the world changed when viewed through the water. The way the light and shapes bent and swirled always fascinated her, even when she was a child. She came up when her lungs began to burn, sputtering and wiping her eyes, then nearly choking on more water when she noticed her mother sitting near the edge of the tub.

"Oh! I didn't see you, Mother. I'm sorry."

Kaoru smiled. She liked how much she looked like her father, especially when she was surprised. Sighing, she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes. I've noticed that Jin and Bear both seem to have grown very fond of you."

Kaen laughed, pushing her hair back.

"Well of course they're fond of me. We're best friends, aren't we?"

Kaoru nodded, but her eyes became more serious.

"I've heard them fighting about something yesterday. Something about the gifts they bought for you. What did they give you?"

Kaen pointed over to her pile of clothes. Beside them were the glass bird and the jade disc necklace. Kaoru picked up both gifts and examined them.

"They are very pretty. But I think that I like the necklace better. What about you?"

"I like them both."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. There was something that Kaen wasn't telling her. She may not have been as close to Kaen as Kenshin was, but she still knew her well enough to see the way her daughter tipped her head down and looked at her hands. Kaen always looked at her hands when she was hiding something.

"Oh, come on, Kaen. You have to like one better than the other. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody."

The tempting offer of a secret bit of rare girl-talk with her mother proved too much for the fourteen year old, who leaned closer to her mother with a tiny smile.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Kaen's faint blush returned as she pulled herself out of the water and wrapped the towel around herself before sitting by her mother.

"I like Jin's gift, but… Bear's is my favorite. He…"

She blushed even harder before blurting out a secret that she had been carrying around for three days and had been dying to divulge to somebody.

"He kissed me three days ago! Just kind of leaned down and…"

She looked up, expecting to see her mother smiling and maybe even laughing behind her hand. But when she saw her mother's face, she shrank back.

Kaoru's eyes were narrowed to slits and her cheeks were stained red from anger. How _dare_ her daughter go around kissing a foreigner!? This had to stop right now. Picking up the glass bird, she strode out of the bathhouse as Kaen hastily pulled on and tied her robe. Genro and Asuma saw from behind the house as Kaoru threw the little glass figure into the fire under the building, not listening to her daughter's angry screams. Kaen spun on her heel, adjusting her yukata as she ran into the bathhouse and threw on her hakama.

"Little bird, what's- whoa!"

Kaen shoved her way past her father, still shrieking insults at her mother as she ran. When she reached the open road, she kept walking, tears streaming down her face. She would go see Bear and Jin, and spend the night with Sano or Yahiko tonight. She wasn't going home to have to put up with her mother's bigoted ideas of whom Kaen should or should not be spending time with. Let them worry for a night…


	11. Chapter 11

**Little Bird**

Chapter 11

Kaen sat on the floor of Sano's shack, quietly drinking water and occasionally looking out the window. She was starting to regret the things she had said to her mother, and leaving without telling anybody where she was going. She had skipped seeing Bear and Jin that evening, so no doubt they had already gone to her home to ask if she was there.

She squinted into the setting sun, wondering if it was too late to go back home and beg forgiveness of her mother. Sano always told her that if she ever needed a place to stay to just get away, his home was open to her, but now she felt rather guilty.

"So, what did you fight with Kaoru over, Kaen?"

Kaen looked at her empty water cup, biting her lip. If she told Sano about how she felt about Bear, he might be able to talk sense into her mother. Also, if her father was as upset with her as her mother was, Sano could help her talk to him too. But what if he got mad too and took her right home? Ah, what to do…

"Kaen?"

"I… Bear kissed me… and I thought that… maybe…"

Sano's eyebrows shot up, threatening to vanish into his mop of hair. Wherever his adopted niece was going with this, it would spell nothing but trouble for everybody involved. She looked at her hands for a moment before looking back up at him with a smile.

"I was hoping you would help me talk them into letting me see him."

Sano was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. He was not about to try to untangle this mess. He may have helped soften Kaen's parents to ideas before, but he agreed with them in this fact. Kaen would not see a foreigner. She had many foreign friends, which was fine in his book, but she would never be anything more with anybody that wasn't Japanese.

"Go to sleep, Kaen. We'll talk in the morning."

"But it's only-"

"Now."

Kaen leaned against the wall, pulling a blanket over her legs.

"Yes, Sano."


	12. Chapter 12

**Little Bird**

Chapter 12

Kaen opened her eyes, half expecting to find herself to be back in her room. She breathed a sigh of relief to find that she was still at Sano's home, in the corner that she had fallen asleep in. Sano was a little way away, sitting slightly hunched over. Kaen was about to tap him on the arm when he spoke, scaring her so badly that she fall backward onto the floor.

"I'm not asleep, Kaen. Let's go, then."

He stood and waited for her to pull herself up, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't slept more than an hour last night, trying to think of the things she said in a calm and logical way, but couldn't. He had met Bear, and he liked the kid, but they were from two _**completely**_ different worlds. She was the daughter of samurai, he was a street urchin. She was Japanese, and he was English. It was something that they could not abide.

"We're going to my house, aren't we?"

Her voice shivered slightly. She was scared. Sano wondered what she had said to her mother and father before leaving, and if they even knew where she was. He had assumed that she had told them and they had not come for her because Kenshin had convinced Kaoru that Kaen needed her space to cool off. If she hadn't told them… Kenshin would have been worrying all night… He sighed and steeled himself for the serious verbal (and possibly physical) ass-kicking that was coming at them.

"Yep. You are going to tell your parents where you were last night and work shit out."

"But-"

"None of that. I know that Kaoru can be really crazy sometimes, but she doesn't mean to harm. This thing going on with Bear…"

Kaen bit her lip, knowing what was coming.

"It can't go on. Being friends is one thing, but whatever you're starting has to stop."

As her house came into view and the red haired figure of her father came dashing toward them, Kaen readied herself for what was coming.

Kenshin grabbed his daughter, hugging her so tightly she let out a pained squeak, then held her out at arms length and gave her a shake. His eyes, usually wide and easygoing, were narrowed in fear and anger. Kaen half expected him to hit her on the side of the head.

"We were worried, Kaen. How could you have run off like that?"

His voice was controlled, calm. Kaen felt guilt churning in her stomach, looking down to her father's feet, wishing he would yell at her. She hated the disappointment in his voice. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him again.

"Don't you hide your eyes from me. Explain yourself. Your mother told me what happened, now I will hear your side of the story."


	13. Chapter 13

**Little Bird**

Chapter 13

Kaen walked into the house, already hearing her mother storming around, and prepared for the fight to come. Kenshin followed her, giving Sano an apologetic look as he shut the door behind them. It was bad enough that the two women in the house fought often, they fought loud enough for anybody to hear, not caring who saw or heard them.

Kaoru was on Kaen before the girl could rally her defenses. In one hand she held a bamboo sword, holding it up threateningly, she began her tirade.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking? Just leaving like that!"

"I needed to think."

"Oh-ho-ho, you need to think alright. Get out of my sight!"

Kaen shrieked in anger. No way was her mother going to pull this on her this time! She picked up a scroll from it's shelf and threw it at Kaoru, bending and picking up another even as the first was deflected. Kenshin dashed forward and gently pried the scroll from his daughter's hand and trying to ward off his angry wife.

"This one doesn't see why you two have to go through all this for every-"

He ducked as a stick went sailing over his head, snapping Kaoru in the face. The red haired man leveled a stern glare at his oldest and lowered his voice to a dangerous level. In the past, the look was usually enough to get Kaen to obey him.

"You overstep, miss."

Kaen set her chin and crossed her arms, looking past her father and glaring at her mother. Her gift from Bear was gone, and it couldn't be brought back, but she intended to make sure that they knew she was still angry. She decided to pull the guilt card on her father, for it usually worked when she was still angry but on the losing end of a battle with her mother. He would smile and apologize to her for being so angry with her and then say something to placate his wife, and life would go on.

"Why are you taking her side, Daddy? What did I do?"

Okay, so she knew what she had done, but she didn't care. She was tired and hungry and wanted to bathe. She nearly choked on her own tongue when she saw her father shake his head.

"Not this time, Kaen."

Kaen let her head fall forward, her hair shielding her face from sight. This was usually enough if the first guilt trip didn't work. However, she didn't put much stock in this working either. Both of her parents were angry at her, and she knew that she was going to be punished, and nobody was going to stop them…

Kenshin, far more angry than even his wife, but usually in far better control of his temper than her, took two angry steps to Kaen and forced her to look up at him. She bit her lip when she saw the disappointment in his eyes.

"I thought you were grown up enough to behave better. You have acted like a child. I am disappointed in you, Kaen. Go to your room, copy out Buddha's teachings three times. I don't want to hear a peep from you."

He let go of her chin and moved aside to let her pass. When she didn't move, he snapped his fingers in front of her nose, making her jump and sending her scurrying to her room.

Kenshin sighed and looked at the cut on Kaoru's face, his face sad. When he had cleaned the cut out and picked up the scroll Kaen had thrown and replaced it on the shelf, he sighed again and went outside. Kaoru followed him and gave him a half smile.

"You know you're the one she really listens to. I can yell and scream until I pass out, and she won't hear a word."

"I know… I just don't like having to do that."

He looked up to see Sano holding Asuma over his head with one hand, fending off the other two boys with the other hand while they tried to 'rescue' their brother. Sano glanced up and smiled at his friends. He looked over to see a flash of yellow go into the woods behind the house and held back a sigh.

'_So she's going to be one of __**those **__kind of teenagers…'_


	14. Chapter 14

**Little Bird**

Chapter 14

Kaen smiled as she wandered through the city, pleased with herself for giving everybody the slip. She was worried for a while that Sano may have noticed her, but as soon as he didn't raise the alarm, she dismissed the thought. There was no way that Sano would rat her out. He was too cool for that.

When she reached the train station, she stopped and watched the people getting off and on the trains, smiling and calling out welcomes to the foreigners. She stopped when she saw a boy her age, accompanied by a girl of around six, walk off the train. Both had large cat's eyes and carried themselves with an air of pride that only the rich had. The boy had light hair, but the girl had dark. Both wore western style clothes, turning to talk to two adults that stepped off after them, obviously their parents.

The man, pale haired and cat eyed, caught sight of her and stopped. She tipped her head and smiled, not sure what to do. He wasn't foreign, so she couldn't be that interesting…

"I'm sorry, but you look very familiar. Are you related to a Himura Kenshin?"

The tall man gave her a small smile, his wife and children standing behind him.

"Uhm… Yes. Himura Kenshin is my father. I'm Himura Kaen. You are…?"

The man's smile broadened, and he motioned his family forward, indicating to her who he was talking about as he spoke.

"This is my wife, Gretchen. Her Japanese isn't very good, so you'll have to slow down when you talk to her. This is my son, Shinta. And this is my daughter, Heidi. My name is Yutaro."

Kaen pursed her lips for a moment, then her mouth fell open.

"_You're_ Yutaro? Mother and Daddy will be so happy to see you! Last time you visited I was a baby, and your wife couldn't come because she had just had Shinta!"

"Yes. Shall we go to your house then?"

"Yeah!" After taking a step, she stopped.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm… supposed to be in my room right now…"

"Hm. Tell you what, we'll go with you, then after you get into your room, we'll go up to the house. Sound like a plan?"

Kaen grinned and hugged the tall man quickly, saying how great an idea it was, then took off down the road.

…………………………………..

Yutaro and his family walked toward the door to the Himura house after Kaen's bare feet slipped into the window. He smiled and tapped on the doorframe, telling his wife and children to remove their shoes. When Kenshin answered the door, his face split into a grin.

"Kaoru! Yutaro's here. I'll go find the boys, you get tea going. It's good to see you again, Yutaro. I look forward to meeting your family properly as soon as I locate my sons."

He paused, then charged back inside, tapping on Kaen's door.

"Kaen, come out here. There's somebody I want you to meet. Change into something nice."

"Okay."

She pulled on her favorite pink kimono and tied her hair into a high ponytail, walking out and bowing to their guests.

"I'm Kaen. Good to meet you."

The little girl, Heidi looked up at her father with a questioning look.

"Daddy, we already met her. Why is she telling us her name?"

_Uh-oh…_


	15. Chapter 15

**Little Bird**

Chapter 15

Shinta slapped his hand over his sister's mouth and laughed.

"We didn't see her, you idiot! We saw her dad a second ago!"

He laughed, but before he let go, he gave her a pinch. When she yelped and glared up at him, Kaoru looked at her daughter, suspicious, then shook her head. She was too tired to argue right now, and she didn't want them to fight in front of guests. She sighed and smiled at her old student and invited them to sit, telling her daughter to show Shinta and Heidi around the grounds.

As they walked, Heidi pelted Kaen with questions so fast that Kaen couldn't answer them all, and was happy to see her father walking up the path to the house, her three younger brothers in tow. Heidi caught sight of Asuma and ran over, introducing herself.

Kaen and Shinta walked up to the house, entering in time to hear Yutaro's wife exclaiming in her rough Japanese how cute Asuma was. Genro got a pat on the head from the woman too, and turned red. He had never liked being touched by anybody but his older sister and mother. Ken, on the other hand, was enjoying all the attention that she was paying him. When Kaoru told them that Ken was a very good dancer, the woman spoke in a rough language that grated Kaen's ears. Yutaro smiled and asked if Ken would like to show them what he could do.

Ken grinned and looked up at his parents, who nodded. Kaen sighed and cleared her throat. When Ken had to practice at home, she always had to sing one of the songs he knew the dance to.

"What do you want, Ken?"

"Kachou Fuugetsu, please."

Kaen took a deep breath and sat down a few feet behind her brother, closing her eyes and praying that she could remember the words.

"Hana no saku sekai ni inochi miru you ni

Tori ga tobu shunkan jiyuu o kanjiru

Kaze ni mimi o sumaseba toki ga arawarete

Tsuki o miru kokoro ni seijaku ga oriru

Mune no oku ni wa itai rekishi ga aru

Ima mo uzuite tokidoki kirameku

Kanashimi no kawa o koete oira wa suishou ni naru

Tamashii no dendou tai ni kibou o toosu no da

Ten no chichi miagete akogare o idaki

Chi no haha ni amaete hagu kumarete iru

Hito wa hito ri ja nakute tsura naru inochi de

Ai ga aru kara koso ikite yukeru no da

Migi no hiza ni wa Shichi Seishi no shirushi

Waza o kiwamete chikara taku waeru

Yorokobi no yama o nobori oira wa toumei ni naru

Energy wa jiyuu jizai ishiki shidai na no da

Kanashimi no kawa o koete oira wa suishou ni naru

Tamashii no dendou tai ni kibou o toosu no da"

Kenshin smiled as he watched his son dance. Kaoru had been against letting Ken take his dancing lessons, but Kenshin had pushed the subject, saying that not everybody was going to be a fighter. In fact, as graceful as the boy was on his feet, he was as clumsy as a toddler when it came to swords. His wife had finally given in when Kaen said she would go too. As it turned out, Kaen was a good dancer too, but focused more on the singing aspect than the actual dancing more often than not.

Shinta watched Ken, but Kenshin noticed that the fifteen year old's eyes would stray over to Kaen. When she would look up at him, he would quickly turn back to watch Ken, his face a little pink. Kaoru noticed too, but said nothing.

When Ken finished, everybody congratulated him, Yutaro translating for his wife. The older woman asked if Kaen danced as well, but Kaen piped up before her father could answer.

"Yes, but not nearly as well as my brother. I'm better with a sword."

As the adults talked and her brothers were getting ready for bed, Kaen slipped into her room and put on her hakama. She excused herself and walked out to her favorite tree and climbed up until she found a branch wide enough to sit in and settled down, her eyes on the stars.

"Hey there."

She looked down to see Shinta standing under her, smiling and taking off his jacket.

"Can I come up?"

"If you can get up. No offense, but you look kinda soft."

Shinta laughed and jumped up, catching hold of a branch and pulled himself slowly up. He seemed to be strong enough to climb, but he was definitely not as quick or as graceful as she and Asuma were. The six year old could climb walls, fences and trees so fast that she swore he was a monkey in a past life.

"Are you sure you can make it?"

"Grr… yes."

He finally managed to haul himself up to her branch and settled himself against the trunk. Kaen smiled and looked him over, laughing when Shinta wobbled, grabbing at the branch under him for support.

"Find a way to sit that lets you balance. Then you won't fall."

He gave her a look and shifted until he could sit comfortably. Kaen reached out and stuck her finger into a hole that opened just above his knee.

"Ah! No! Mother will have a fit… But oh well, I guess I can fix them later."

"Are the clothes that your mother and sister wear comfortable?"

"Huh?"

Kaen twisted the hem of her hakama a few times, then looked over at him.

"Well, I know that they are tighter than kimono, but they are pretty… Do you think that I could try one?"

"Sure, why not?"

Kaen didn't answer. She didn't want to tell her mother's former student's son that her mother hated almost all foreigners. When she didn't answer, Shinta sighed and shifted a little closer.

"She doesn't like foreigners, does she?"

"No. Not really. She thinks that Japan should stay for the Japanese. I love foreigners. They are interesting. One of my best friends is a foreigner. If you want, I can introduce you to my friends tomorrow."

"Sure. Sounds fun. Looks like we're going to be spending the night here tonight anyway."

Kaen yawned and began to climb down. Shinta made to follow her, and ended up tearing his clothes more.

"Don't worry. Genro will let you borrow some of his clothes."

Shinta smiled and Kaen went inside and kissed her father goodnight, then gave her mother a brief hand squeeze before retreating to her room.

AN

I do NOT own the song Kachou Fuugetsu. If I did, I would have more than $20 to last two weeks! Grr!

I know that this was an odd chapter, but it was needed. The next will make it make sense. Promise. Send your reviews! I love em! But if you are going to criticize, please make sure it is constructive criticism! Thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

**Little Bird**

Chapter 16

"KEN! HURRY UP, WE'RE LATE!"

Kaen was running around the house, hastily shoving two boxed lunches and two changes of clothes into a haversack while trying to tie her hair back. She flung open her younger brother's door, startling both Asuma and Ken out of a deep sleep.

"Move it Ken, or we'll miss our dancing and music classes."

Ken shot up and threw on his clothes and ran outside to wash his face while Kaen chatted with Yutaro and his family. Heidi kept nodding off with her head on her father's arm, but Shinta stood and smiled at Ken and Kaen.

"Can I come with you?"

Kaen nodded and grabbed her brother's hand and began to run down the road, Shinta keeping pace with the redhead. Yutaro smiled and turned his attention back to Kenshin and Kaoru.

"I really think going back with us to Germany would be a great opportunity for Kaen to learn more of her music. She could stay with us, learn German, learn western customs, learn from the best music teachers… She has talent, Kaoru, Kenshin. And who knows, some time away from home may help to break this rebellious streak you say is showing up in her."

Kenshin looked out the window to see Genro practicing his sword techniques while his little brother sat watching him, an open book in his lap. He was in two minds on this decision. On one hand, this would be a great advantage to Kaen, as Yutaro said. She would learn about the foreigners, their language, and how they thought. He knew she would love to spend a year and a half over in Germany.

On the other hand, there was the fact that she would be very far from the home she knew. If something happened while she was abroad, she wouldn't be able to get home quickly. If she got sick… he thought he would rather not think about anything like that…

Kaoru was worried about the prospect of having her daughter leave. She always fought with her, often to the point where they would graduate to physical battles, but wasn't sure what she would do without the sunny girl. They may have a rough relationship, but they had fun together too. If she left, there would be no surprise trips to their favorite shops, sneaked chocolates, or listening to her singing when she thought nobody was listening. But, if she traveled… She would surely have time to forget her growing affection for Bear…

"Maybe it's a choice left to her, Yutaro. Kaoru and I aren't going to be able to make the choice for her…"

Yutaro smiled and rubbed his bad hand absently.

"Well, it's no big rush. We'll be here for a month or two, staying at the inn. We'll talk it over with Kaen later."

Kenshin nodded. He already could hear his daughter's choice…

………………………………

"YES!"

Kaen danced around in a circle, grinning.

"Miss Himura, if you don't sit down…"

Kaen sat down quickly, smiling at her little brother. Ken had just finished a dance that had been proving to be his undoing, with only a few minor mistakes. Ken looked over at his sister, smiling.

"Alright, Miss Himura. Now you will show us 'A Widow Goes to The Temple'."

Kaen sighed. She was not the best dancer in the class, and wouldn't be here if they didn't teach music too. As she danced, she occasionally saw Ken wince, and knew that she had missed a step. Finally it was over and she was released to go to her singing class while Ken received his lessons in the fue. Shinta decided to follow Kaen.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I was terrible. You must be bored out of your mind."

"Oh, no. I really like watching this. You make funny faces when you make a mistake."

He chuckled when she blushed and smacked him on the shoulder. He winced, smiling and laughing while the teacher greeted the class. He sat in a far corner, where he would not cause any distraction among the students.

Kaen was the first to try to sing the song they had been learning, and Shinta thought she did pretty well, but the teacher pursed her lips and stopped her half way through the song.

"No, no, no! Fix your rhythm! You are going too fast. Stand straighter, you're slouching! Chin _up_, you stupid girl!"

"Yes teacher."

Shinta wasn't sure he liked the way she taught, but said nothing. Kaen stood like her teacher told her and started over. The rest of the class passed without incident. Kaen walked up to Shinta and held his arm as they walked toward the road, waving when they saw Ken come running out to meet them.

"Hey Ken, go on home. I'm going to show Shinta around and introduce him to some friends. Tell Mother and Daddy that I'll be home by dinner."

The boy's face fell as she spoke. He liked walking home with his sister after their classes. They always stopped to get a snack, then would talk about what they learned, making fun of their teachers and other students.

"Can't I come with you?"

Kaen sighed and looked around. Then she shook her head.

"Not this time, kid. You'll be fine."

"Fine…"

As they parted ways, Shinta watched as Kaen dug around in her bag, finally pulling out a small bag of money.

"Come on. We always meet at the docks. I think you'll like Bear and Jin, they're great."

At the docks, Shinta was surprised to see the small group of teens. Kaen ran up to the tallest boy, the only blond, and hugged him, then turned to the shorter skinny boy and hugged him. Then she turned to Shinta and pulled him toward them, holding his elbow firmly.

"This is Bear. He's our muscle. That one is Jin. He's our brains. Those are Nami, Hiro, Anji, Kuro and Koji. Everybody, this is my friend Shinta. He'll be running with us until he goes back to Germany."

Bear smiled and swatted him on the shoulder while Jin and the others bowed.

"Now come on, Kuniko-obaa-san has sweets cooking. She may be willing to give us something."

……………………………………….

When Shinta and Kaen got back, Kenshin was waiting for them in the yard.

"Uh-oh… I think I'm about to get in trouble…"

Kenshin raised his eyebrows and glared at his daughter.

"You sent Ken home on his own so you could go play with your friends. You know he's not old enough to be going around on his own! Part of our agreement was that you would walk with him there and home."

"I'm sorry Daddy. That was rude and foolish of me. I'll never do it again."

His face remained stony for a moment, then relaxed into a smile.

"I'll let it pass this once, but you had best not do it again."

"Yes sir."

"Now come inside. There's… something Yutaro and your mother and I want to talk to you about."

They followed him inside and sat by their parents, looking confused.

"Kaen, would you ever consider traveling overseas?"

"Well, yeah. But where? And why?"

Kenshin looked at Yutaro and sighed, closing his eyes, then smiling at his little bird.

"Would you like to go with Yutaro and his family to Germany when they leave to study music?"

A/N

Thank you all for your great reviews! I love them! I hope that this goes the way I want it to, and it doesn't disappoint. I'll be ending this soon, I think. Then the sequel to Daddy Battosai will begin to take shape!

Thank yous and big huggin's to:

LAVertisha

Scarred Sword Heart

HuntedByTrees

xXoro-chanXx


	17. I'm sending out an SOS

**Deception'sChosen Needs Help!!!**

Hi everybody. I am having a huge problem with my story here. I have run into a wall, and I can't seem to get around it.

You see, Kaen has the option to go to Germany to study music. I have already decided how she will answer, but I have to ask y'all something.

Who do you think Kaen should be with? Shinta, the half Japanese? Bear, the European mutt? Jin the Japanese? Some other guy she meets elsewhere?

This has had me running around like a crazy girl without a head. I'd really like to know what you, the esteemed readers, think on the subject. Just send me a message or a review with any thoughts you may have. I set up a poll on this, but I can't figure out how to post the darned thing… --u

Thank you!


	18. Chapter 17

**Little Bird**

Chapter 17

Kaen sat in silence for a long time, looking from her parents to their guests. The former looking like they were as unsure as she was, the later smiling expectantly. She loved music, but how could she leave her family? How long would she be gone? More than a year, for sure. Could she last that long away from everything she loved so dearly?

Finally, Genro cleared his throat and spoke.

"You know, it isn't like she has to answer right now. Like you said, you will be staying for a good month or two." He looked over at his sister and smiled. "So you just need to think on it."

Kaen nodded and accepted a bowl of rice from her father when he began to bring out their dinner, not speaking or smiling her usual cheery smile. Asuma tugged at his sister's sleeve, leaning against her shoulder.

"What's up, runt?"

Her voice was quieter than usual, her eyes distant.

"Will you leave? Will you go to Germany?"

Kaen looked down at her youngest brother and gave him a small smile, patting him on the head affectionately.

"I don't know. I want to go to learn, but I'm… bah, never mind. Daddy?" she pushed away her food, only half eaten, and stood with an apologetic look. "I'm not hungry. I'll be outside if anybody needs me."

Kenshin was about to tell her that she was being very rude and was going to sit even if she wasn't eating, but stopped right after he opened his mouth. He understood how her head must be spinning. His own had nearly spun clean off on occasion when faced with a momentous choice or change.

……………………………….

Kaen sat up in her tree again, leaning against the rough trunk with her eyes wide, staring into the sky but not seeing it. She twisted a bit of her hair around her fingers, chewing on her lip. She jumped when she heard a stick snap under her. When she looked down, she saw her father climbing up toward her.

"Hey Daddy. You scared me."

"Sorry. I'm a little heavier than I used to be, and I can't climb silently anymore."

"Ah," she laughed softly, half smiling "the lament of the aging father."

Kenshin snorted and sat down on a branch a little lower than Kaen's, resting a hand on her ankle. When he spoke, his voice was low, as if he didn't want to chance being overheard.

"Kaen, if you want to go, then go. It would be good for you to go to Germany. Yutaro and his wife would look out for you, and you would no doubt be having a good time."

"But… What about you? And Mother? And the boys?"

Kenshin sighed and pushed his hair back, wishing that he didn't have to have this conversation with his daughter. He had somehow always assumed that she would always be around… That she would never leave him or her family. He could see that she wanted to go, but he knew that it was her family that was the one thing that was barring her from going.

"We'll be fine, little bird."

Kaen smiled and leaned forward to brush bark out of her hair.

"Daddy… I know that I am old enough to do this on my own, I'm almost 15… An adult… But… I'm scared of going."

Kenshin smiled and motioned for her to come down and sit on the ground with him and slid off his branch. Kaen followed and sat close to her father, resting her head on his shoulder and continuing to twist her hair. Kenshin put an arm over her thin shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze, stroking her hair idly.

"Well, it isn't like you have to decide this very second, little bird. Give it the thought that it deserves, and you will come to the conclusion that is the best for you. Don't let us hold you back from anything that you feel you have to do, or want to do. This is your time, after all, not ours."

"Huh?"

"Well, what happens to Japan and the outside world is up to the choices that people your age make, like what it was when I and your mother were young."

Kaen gave him a look that was a mixture of bewilderment and amusement, her violet eyes fixed on his own.

"You aren't old, Daddy. Neither is Mother."

Kenshin shrugged and ruffled her hair, earning a groan followed by a short laugh.

"Ah, this old man must be going soft."

"What do you mean by that?"

She looked at him from behind the thick red curtain of her hair and noticed that his eyes were overly bright, as though tears were building in them. Kaen felt a wave of embarrassment mixed with guilt. What had she said to upset her father so?

"I suppose that I never really thought you would grow up. I kind of feel like I turned away for a moment when you were a child, then turned back to see you as you are now, all in the blink of an eye. Soon you'll be off, getting married and having your own family to tend to, and you'll forget all about the old man who once rescued you from the demons in the well and the spiders in the bathhouse."

Kaen shuddered at the mention of the well and spiders, then scooted closer to her beloved father and rested her head on his shoulder again, closing her eyes with a sigh.

"I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to."

She yawned and she seemed to lean harder on her father, and was soon sound asleep. He sighed and lifted her up into his arms and carried her to her room. As he left Kaoru to put the boys to bed after their guests left, he thought back to the past few days. How could the girl who still would fall asleep on her father and was terrified of the well out back be such a wild teenager who ran off when she had been told to stay in the house to go see her friends, and sneak back during the night trying to be silent after sneaking sake and Kami knows what else down at the docks.

'She's a wild one alright. Maybe… Maybe Germany will be enough of a change to change that rebellious streak…'

It took both him and his wife a long time to fall asleep that night, both thinking of their daughter and what her decision may be… And how it would change her.


	19. Chapter 18

**Little Bird**

Chapter 18

Kaen spent the next few weeks trying to pretend that there was nothing happening other than her normal life. As if she had never been asked if she wanted to go to Germany to study music.

A few things did change though. Yutaro began to teach her German, saying that it was good for her to learn a second language in these times. After their two hour long lessons, she and Shinta would go to the docks and spend time with Bear and the others. Jin liked Shinta, but Bear always was trying to pick fights with the half-japanese boy. Then they would come home to Kaen's house and have dinner with their families.

Heidi loved to play with Kaen when the girl was around. Once, the little girl even talked the redhead into trying on one of Gretchen's dresses, giggling when Kaen sauntered out. Her hair was hanging down her back and the skirt pooled around her feet, her face was red she was laughing so hard. At that moment Gretchen walked in and stopped, her head tipped to one side, a small smile flitting over her face.

"Dear, if you are going to borrow a dress, I don't think you should wear one that shade of red. It clashes with your hair."

The three had laughed and Kaen put on her own yukata and hakama, preferring the roomy clothes to the tight-cut dresses of the west.

Yutaro and his family often refused, after a few weeks of lessons in German, to speak in Japanese for hours at a time. If she spoke in Japanese to them, they would act as though they didn't understand, which sometimes frustrated Kaen so much that she would storm away with tears in her eyes. Yutaro insisted that it would help the lessons stick in her brain better if she was around the language.

Kaen walked with Shinta and Jin, having left a sick Bear back at his house. The three wandered through the city, stopping when they saw a small group of red haired men wander out of a bar and sit on the grass, only to start singing.

One pleasant evening in the month of june

As I was sitting with my glass and spoon,

A small bird sat on an ivy bunch,

And the song he sang was the Jug of Punch.

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

A small bird sat on an ivy bunch,

And the song he sang was the Jug of Punch.

Mhat more devotion can a man desire

Than to sitting down by the alehouse fire?

Upon his knee a pretty wench,

And on the table a jug of punch!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Upon his knee a pretty wench,

And on the table a jug of punch!

And if I get drunk, well the money's me own.

And if them don't like it they can leave me alone.

I'll tune me fiddle,

I'll rosen me bow,

And I'll be welcome wherever I go.

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

I'll tune me fiddle,

I'll rosen me bow,

And I'll be welcome wherever I go.

And when I'm dead and in my grave,

No haughty tombstone will I have.

Lay me down in my native peat,

With a jug of punch at my head and feet!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Toora-loora loo

Toora-loora lay!

Lay me down in my native peat,

With a jug of punch at my head and feet!

Kaen smiled as she listened, slowly walking toward the men, pulling her companions after her. Shinta recognized their language, but didn't know what they were saying. Jin pressed his lips into a thin white line.

When one of the men looked up and saw Kaen, he elbowed one of his companions and nodded toward her. She smiled and bowed to them and asked their names. There was a short silence, then one of the men leaned forward with his eyes trained on the small redhead.

"Little Kaen? Himura Kaen?"

Kaen tipped her head, recognizing the voice a little. His Japanese was shaky, like he had learned it, but hadn't used it in years. She seemed to remember candy, a wooden sword and brightly dressed dolls when she heard his voice, along with a navy uniform. Jin looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Kaen, that's… Baijiru-san…"

Kaen's eyes lit up and her smile widened. Just as she had when she was a child, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands happily.

"Your Japanese is still good, Baijiru-san!"

The man looked over at Jin and smiled.

"I see she hasn't lost her energy."

Jin laughed a little, then shook his head. When Kaen calmed, she looked at Baijiru's companions and pointed to her nose.

"Himura Kaen."

Introductions were stilted and took a long time, and Kaen was sure that most of them were too drunk to remember their own names, much less their own foreign ones. The sun began to sink in the sky, and Kaen and her friends bade goodbye to the sailors and left.

"Uhm, Kaen?"

"Yes Shinta?"

Shinta looked around and swallowed hard.

"Where are we?"

Kaen and Jin looked around and saw many men and women in the street. Almost every single woman they saw wore kimono and had elaborate makeup on their faces. For a moment, Kaen wondered if they had wandered into the geiko district, then noticed that the women's sashes were all tied in the front. Her face split into a grin as she began to walk faster.

"I know where we are-"

"We shouldn't be here, Kaen! I'm leaving."

Kaen glared at Jin and shrugged.

"Fine. I'm going to visit Yuka and Hiroshi."

Jin shook his head and walked away, careful to avoid the women standing around. Kaen grabbed Shinta and began to walk again, calling out to a few of the people as they passed. Shinta noticed that there were men standing around too.

"Are we in a… red light district?"

"Yeah. I've got some good friends here. You'll like them. I wonder if they're busy?"

She stopped in front of a brightly lit house where a few women were sitting in the windows. She waved at them, then turned and bowed to the old woman sitting on a low stool.  
"Hello Granny. Is Yuka available?"

The old woman pursed her lips and sent a maid up to check. The girl came back and whispered into the old woman's ear.

"She has a customer now. She will come down when he's finished."

"What about Hiroshi?"

The maid was sent up again and came down with a man in a dark blue kimono behind her. The man smiled when he saw Kaen.

"Long time, no see, little sister."

Shinta sat with the two while they talked in a room with comfortable cushions to sit on and a low table set for tea. He wondered if Kaen's parents knew that she was friends with two prostitutes…

Suddenly the door opened to reveal a girl of around sixteen in a three layer robe, her hair artfully sculpted and her face made up. The girl was pretty, but Shinta wasn't overly impressed. There was nothing unique about her appearance. She didn't have bright hair or purple eyes…

"Yuka!"

"Kaen. How have you been? Who's this?"

Kaen waited for Yuka to sit before answering.

"This is my friend Shinta. He and his family are visiting from Germany."

Hiroshi smiled and poured tea for all of them, Yuka lighting a pipe and smiling as she let out a puff of blue smoke. Shinta grinned over at Kaen and spoke as the redhead took a sip of her tea.

"So have you given any thought to coming with us to Germany?"

Hiroshi's eyebrows shot up and Yuka's eyes went wide.

"You're going to Germany, little sister?"

"Well, I don't know Hiro…"

Yuka's voice was high and excited when she reached out and took the younger girl's hand.

"You should! It would be such fun! You could write us letters and send us souvenirs and… Kaen, what's wrong?"

Kaen was staring down at her cup, her face hidden by her hair. Both Yuka and Hiroshi knew that this was what she did when she was upset. The man sat back on his heels and stared at the redhead for a moment, then turned to Yuka.

"Little sister, I believe that she hasn't decided. However," he reached across the table and pushed Kaen's hair out of the way with a small smile "I believe that when the time comes, she'll make the best choice."

There was a shout from below calling for Hiroshi.

"And that, my friends, is the sound of money. I'll see you later. If you go to Germany, Kaen, send me letters."

Soon there was another shout for Yuka. The girl sighed and stood, kissing Kaen on the cheek.

"Well, I'll see you. Say goodbye to me before you go."

Kaen watched her go, then stood. Shinta followed her out into the street and didn't say a word the whole way home. He was afraid that if he spoke, she would yell or hit him.

When they arrived at Kaen's house, she waited for everybody to sit for dinner before she cleared her throat and fixed her eyes on her father's knees.

"I want to go. I want to go to Germany."


	20. Chapter 19

**Little Bird**

Chapter 19

Kaoru watched as Kaen wrapped a few of her favorite kimono in paper tied them tightly with twine. Kaoru bit her lip and took a step back from the door of her daughter's room, biting her lip. She felt like should say something to her, as Kaen would be leaving in only a week. But what to say? She crept closer again and peeked inside.

Kaen glanced up at a shelf and smiled at something. When she stood, she pulled over a low writing table that her father had bought Kaen for her birthday two years ago over under the shelf. She climbed up onto it and stood on her toes, reaching behind the treasures she had accumulated over her fourteen years, feeling around.

"Aha! Gotcha!"

The whispered words barely reached Kaoru before Kaen brought a wide box down. Kaoru leaned to the left to see a little better. Kaen lifted the lid of the box and set it aside, gently pulling a doll from its nest of silk.

_Is…Is that…?_

Kaen pulled off a square of silk from the doll's head, revealing red hair.

Kaen smiled and touched the doll's hair, then it's dark green and gold kimono. She had gotten the doll as a gift from her mother when she was ten years old, and because Kaoru never saw it, she always assumed that the doll had been thrown away in a rage. Kaoru had never told Kenshin how much the doll had cost, as she had to special order it to get red hair.

Kaoru bit her lip and stood quickly, feeling her eyes burn. Turning, she made to get away, maybe to the bathhouse, when she heard Kaen start singing.

_You may be dressed in rags,_

_But the brocade of your heart_

_Is more beautiful than any flower._

_You are only young once,_

_If you are a man,_

_Do something no one else can do._

_Men hide their hearts,_

_and never cry,_

_they smile always._

_Girls always know this._

_You say you're in love,_

_But lets not talk about that now._

_See the smile I cast your way?_

Kaoru sniffled, then quickly covered her face to silence herself. She had taught that song to her daughter a long time ago, telling her that the song summed up what happened when she met Kenshin.

Kaen sang the first verse again and opened her door, wearing her bath robe. When she saw Kaoru, she froze, wide eyed. To her surprise, her mother smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's been a while since we did anything together, Kaen… Tomorrow, you and I will go shopping, then have lunch, just the two of us. Okay?"

Kaen tipped her head, not sure if she quite understood her mother's motives for inviting her out. Finally, she decided that her mother was trying to say that she was going to miss her. She smiled and turned her head a little away.

"Will you tie my hair back please, mother? I'll wash it tomorrow before we go."

Kaoru's hands were shaky as she tied the ribbon into her daughter's hair, but her voice was steady as she spoke.

"If you wait a moment, I'll go with you."

"…Okay."

A/N:

Sorry, but I wanted there to be a happy moment between Kaoru and Kaen. They fight all the time, but they are family. They love each other, and are going to miss each other, even though they fight. Kind of like my mother and I! 


	21. Chapter 20

**Little Bird**

Chapter 20

Kaen woke up early to wash her hair, passing Asuma's room on the way, peeking in to catch a glance of the snoring boy as she walked by. She spared a glance at the sky, clouds hanging low, threatening rain. As she scrubbed, she listened to the birds singing outside. She would miss this, miss everything…

She smiled as she thought of what was waiting for her at the end of the week. Her father would come with her on the train with Yutaro and his family until they got to the ship in Tokyo. Then she would board the ship and be on her way to Germany with her new 'family'. She still had so much to do…

She got up, squeezing water out of her hair. After she wrapped her head in her towel, she wandered out of the bathhouse, looking for somebody to talk to while she combed her hair. Combing her hair took ages, because it was so thick and long and twisted into tough knots. She envied Heidi and her mother, whose fine hair never was snarled enough to cause trouble.

Kaen smiled when she saw her father carrying a pail of water into the house, his head tipped down and his hair obscuring his face. It was too early to start cooking, so she followed him into the house, pulling her comb from her sleeve. He set the pail down in the kitchen, jumping when he felt a small hand tug on his sleeve. He turned, smiling, to his eldest.

"Yes, little bird? What is it?"

Kaen smiled and dragged her comb through her hair, wincing as she yanked at a stubborn knot. Kenshin shook his head and took the comb, pointing outside. After Kaen had sat and her father sat behind her and began fighting her hair, she let out a sigh.

"I'll miss things like this. Being the only two awake and talking. Making breakfast and waking the others up. You, Mother… the boys. I'll miss Yahiko and Sano, Megumi too."

"There is still time to change your mind, you know."

Kaen shook her head, smiling.

"No, Daddy. I'm still going to go to Germany, but I just want to get you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Will you make sure that Yuki knows I didn't abandon her?"

Kenshin snorted, smiling despite his heavy sadness. Leave it to his little bird to worry over the feelings of a cat as well as the feelings of her family…

"I'll make sure she knows."

"Good."

There was a crash and the two watched as lightening arced across the sky. Kaen's face fell as rain came roaring down in torrents.

"Great. Now what will Mother and I do? We were supposed to go shopping!"

"Who?"

"Mother and I. We decided last night while you were getting Asuma ready for bed. I finished packing a few things and was going to take a bath and ran into her in the hall. We talked and she suggested that we go out, just the two of us."

Kenshin smiled. He hated it when his wife and daughter fought, which was often, and was always trying to make them get along. Maybe now they would finally get things straightened out before Kaen left. His mood slipped a little from depression to quiet contentment, slowly running the heavy comb through Kaen's flaming hair.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry that I won't be there to pray at Tomoe's grave with you. I'll pray while I'm away."

Kenshin bit his lip. He had told Kaen about his first wife only when she had insisted on going with him to Kyoto when she was ten, and only a little bit of the story. As far as she knew, Tomoe had died of an illness when she was very young. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he had, with his own hands, killed her. He didn't want to see how she would look at him if she knew. It had been hard enough to tell Kaoru…

Kaen twisted to face her father, her eyes worried.

"Daddy? Are you okay?"

Kenshin jumped, snapping back to reality. He handed her the comb and stood, brushing grit off his legs and watching as she copied his actions. He sighed and the two walked into the kitchen and began to make breakfast, Kenshin cutting up vegetables while Kaen cooked the rice and put the cut vegetables into the steamer.

"I'm fine, little bird…"

"No you aren't. You're upset because I'm going away…"

He smiled and tossed a radish at his daughter, who caught the vegetable and stuck out her tongue with a laugh.

"Can you blame me little bird? You're the oldest, our only daughter… it just won't be the same without you."

Kaen leaned on her father, resting her cheek on his shoulder and smiling.

"A wise man once told me that change is just another word for life."

Kenshin scowled at his daughter and gave her a gentle cuff on the head, making her laugh and duck out of the room. He called out to her as she walked toward her brother's rooms.

"I hate it when you parrot my words back at me!"

"Ah, but I am a little bird, it is what I do. Chirp. Tweet."

_Smartass._ He thought, shaking his head and getting ready for the rest of his family to come for breakfast. He glanced out the window to see Yutaro and Shinta, both holding umbrellas, coming toward the house. He walked out the door, smiling.

"No lessons today, Yutaro. No outings with Kaen either, Shinta."

The pale haired boy looked from his father to the red haired man with worried eyes.

"Is she sick, Mr. Himura?"

Kenshin smiled at Shinta and shook his head.

"No, Kaen is not ill. Today she will be with her family only."

Yutaro nodded and led his son away, speaking in rapid German. Kenshin went back into the house just in time to hear his wife yell at him for dripping water all over, even though he had hardly moved from the door. Kenshin shook his head and walked toward the room he shared with his wife, muttering.

"You would think you were pregnant again, with how cranky you've been…"  
"What was that?!"

"Nothing, Kaoru!"


	22. Chapter 21

**Little Bird**

Chapter 21

Kaen and her family sat, quietly eating, but not speaking. Kaoru was glaring at her food, while Genro and Ken absently pushed their rice around. Asuma was the only one actually eating and enjoying it. Kaen reached out and tugged on Genro's hair, smiling when he glared at her.

"What was that for?!"

"Because I love you… And I can."

Genro made a face and turned his attention back to his uneaten food. Ken's eyes drifted over to the door to his sister's room, looking like he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to say it.

"Kaen?"

"Yeah? What is it runt?"

Ken poked a pickle with a chopstick, picking it up, but not eating it.

"When you're away… Will you write to us?"

Kaen stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Asuma jumped, making rice fly in all directions.

"What kind of question is _that_ little brother? Of course I'll write to you. I'll write twice a week, take the portrait of all of us with me, send you presents-"

Asuma looked up with bright eyes, fat tears collecting at the corners of his eyes as he tried to not let them fall.

"We don't want presents, Kaen. We want _you_."

Kaen sighed and looked at her mother and father for help, but found none. Kenshin was staring at his own bowl, his hair falling over his eyes, and Kaoru was picking at a chip in her fingernail. Kaen sighed again and smiled at her youngest brother.

"I know, but I need to go. I won't be gone forever, you know."

"But _two years_! That's like… forever!"

Kaen shoveled the contents of her bowl into her mouth, drawing a groan from her mother, then stood while she tried to swallow the mass of food. When she finally managed to swallow and avoid choking, she grinned down at her brothers and flipped her long ponytail behind her shoulder.

"Then today, after Mother and I get back, we'll do whatever you want. But after sundown, you have to let me have some time with Daddy too."

The three boys nodded, and Kenshin had to smile. When they got their time together, he wasn't sure if she would be able to do anything but fall asleep on him. Her brothers would doubtlessly wear her out.

"So. What's first after I get back? Asuma, you're the youngest, so we'll do what you want first."

Asuma smiled, revealing a missing tooth. He stood and flung his arms around his sister's waist. His enthusiasm nearly knocked her backward.

"Can we play a game?"

"Sure. What game?"

Asuma screwed his face up in thought. Kaen detangled herself from her brother with a laugh.

"Well, you think on it. When I get back, you can tell me then." She looked over at her other two brothers and smiled as she tugged the creases out of her kimono. "Then you can tell me what you two want to do. Sound fair?"

The boys nodded and Kaoru stood up, taking her bowl out to wash it. Kaen picked up two lacquered umbrellas, a blue one for her mother and a green for herself, and walked over to the door to wait. Kaen handed the umbrella to her mother and turned to wave goodbye as they left.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kaoru looked over at Kaen as they walked, studying every line on her daughter's face, wondering what she would look like when she came back… Would she wear her hair the way the European women did? Would she only wear dresses that cinched her waist in? Would her face still be so like Kenshin's?

Kaen glanced over to see her mother staring, and smiled out of instinct.

"Is there something on my face?"

Kaoru snapped out of her reverie, blinking rapidly and scratching her nose to try to cover her moment of surprise. Kaen smiled and brushed her hair back. Kaoru smiled and reached out and took her daughter's hand, leading her into a small store that sold jewelry.

Once inside, they folded their umbrellas and greeted the old woman who ran the shop and her aged husband. The white haired man listened as Kaoru whispered something in his ear, then grinned and went to the back of the store. The old woman made Kaen sit down in front of a mirror while Kaoru took a box from the old man.

"Mother, what – ?"

She fell silent when she saw what was in her mother's hands. A hairpin made of pale wood, with a tortoise shell disc on the end, with small silver flutters hanging from it. Kaoru pulled Kaen's hair out of it's usual topknot and wound it into a bun, securing it with the hairpin.

"Are you happy with it, Miss? Your mother had it made specifically for you. Look at what is on the tortoise shell."

Kaen leaned closer to the mirror and tipped her head to see the pin better. Engraved on the disc was a bird in flight.

Kaen looked over at her mother, who was smiling quietly throughout the whole exchange, and bit her lip to keep it from trembling. Without a word, she stood and put her forehead on her mother's shoulder and let out a tiny sniffle.

Kaoru smoothed her daughter's hair and gently made her step back so that she could pay for the hairpin. Once this was done, the two walked through the town, stopping occasionally to look at or buy prints of samurai and quiet scenes, a pretty piece of clothing or a piece of candy.

While they sat eating their lunch, the rain stopped. When an old blind man walked in and began playing his worn shamisen, Kaoru smiled and dropped some money in a small box for him. She gathered her things and motioned for her daughter to do the same, then began to walk back to the dojo.

"I hope you got a good night's rest last night."

"Why do you say that, Mother?"

"Because if that is any indication, you're going to need the energy."

Kaen followed her mother's pointing finger to see Asuma come barreling toward them, shouting her name.

_This is going to be a long day…_


	23. Chapter 22

**Little Bird**

Chapter 22

Kaen groaned as her brother pounced on her, trying to balance her stack of packages while trying to make her brother relinquish his hold on her waist.

"Asuma! You're going to make me drop this! Let go of me!"

The boy released her and contented himself with simply following on her heels as she put her packages in her room. She turned to her youngest brother and sighed, literally giving him a gentle kick on the behind to push him out the door.

"I'm going to change into something I can get dirty, okay Asuma? I'll be right out. Go get Ken and Genro."

When she came out wearing her favorite blue yukata and black hakama with her hair tied back, she saw Genro leaning on a tree with an almost bored look on his face. Kaen could see that he had been looking forward to her return as much as their younger brothers, who immediately attacked their sister. When asked again what he wanted to do, Asuma said that he wanted to play at being samurai. Genro rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Kaen smiled and looked around at her brothers.

"Alright. We'll play samurai. What does everybody want to be?"

Asuma jumped up and down with his hand in the air.

"I wanna be a samurai!"

"Right! Asuma the samurai. Got it. What about you, Ken?"

Ken smiled, knowing that his older two siblings were really too old to play this game, but were willing to play anyway. In fact, he knew that Kaen liked to play with the younger children who seemed drawn to her.

"I'll be a wandering priest."

"Genro?"

"I guess I'll be another samurai. What about you Kaen?"

Kaen tapped her lip, thinking. She knew what would happen if she played the oni, and really didn't feel like spending the night trying to find a position that didn't hurt when she was trying to sleep. But she couldn't leave them opponentless…

She looked over to see Sano and waved him over as he walked out of their house.

"Okay. I'll be a ninja. Sano can be the evil oni of the mountain. Hang on, here he comes."

Sano slowed as he got closer, a wary look on his face.

"I volunteered you to be the evil mountain oni, Sano. Asuma and Genro are playing samurai, and Ken is a wandering monk."

Sano smiled and spit out the fish bone he had been chewing on.

"And what are you supposed to be?"

Kaen smiled and picked up a small stone and flung it at a tree.

"I'm being a ninja." She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear "So you could buy me off them, if you name the right price."

She took off after her brothers, who had already begun the game, with a smile over her shoulder at Sano. Sano shook his head, but settled himself against a tree to wait for them to come after him, the 'oni'.

As he sat, Sano thought about the gift he had got for Kaen. He had ordered it a week and a half ago, and it had only just come in. It was sitting in the sitting area of the house, waiting to be found and played later. His gift was a shamisen, painted with black lacquer and red and gold butterflies. He liked her shamisen music, but her old one was so plain, and was starting to fall apart. He looked up just in time to see Kaen throwing Asuma toward him, shouting a challenge.

…This was going to sting…


	24. Chapter 23

**Little Bird**

Chapter 23

Kaen ate in silence, watching as Asuma fought to stay awake. She had spent the day running, swimming, playing rough games, practicing sword drills, reviewing music and walking to classes in town.

"Hey, Asuma. I think it's time for bed."

The boy blinked at his sister over his bowl of rice and chicken, then nodded. The boy was even more tired than she was, having done everything in his power to keep up with his siblings. He stood and wobbled for a moment, then was able to totter back to his bedroom.

Kaen looked out the window, surprised at how fast the day had gone. Her brothers had dragged her all over the house and town, refusing to let her sit for more than five minutes…

"This one thinks he is happy with how the day went. What about you?"

Kaen looked up at her father and smiled, standing slowly to follow him outside to their tree. The very tree that she had _fallen out of_ when she had to go up after Ken, who had gotten his foot stuck. She absently rubbed her shoulder at the memory… She would feel that in the morning.

Sitting at the base of the tree, the pair were silent. One thinking of how tired they all were after such a long day, the other fretting over the health of his daughter. What if she got hurt or sick while she was away? So what if Germany supposedly had the best medicine in the world? She would be wanting her family, and they wouldn't be there! What if –

"Daddy? You're thinking again."

Kenshin looked down at his knees for a moment, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, little bird. I can't help but worry."

"I know, but… If you keep worrying like that, you'll give yourself ulcers."

The man chuckled and looked over at his daughter, allowing himself to think of the little girl she used to be. Where had that little girl gone? The girl whose only wish was to ride on her father's shoulders and follow her adopted uncle and cousin around?

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I really will write all the time. Twice a week. Maybe more, if you want me to."

Kenshin chuckled and put an arm over his only daughter's shoulders, ruffling her hair with a smile. She groaned and shook her head, but moved closer.

"You write as much as you want to, little bird. Leave nothing of your travels out. I want to hear everything."

"Even if it's to say that I met a nice German boy?"

Kenshin leveled a glare at her, and Kaen started laughing. She nearly shrieked loud enough to wake the birds in the other trees when her father suddenly tickled her sides, a grin on his face.

"Stop! I'm sorry I said that I may meet a nice German! Stop it!"

Kenshin nodded solemnly and sat back against the tree while Kaen gasped for breath.

"Don't forget to thank Sano and Megumi for the shamisen tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight Daddy."

"Goodnight, little bird…"

Kenshin watched her walk to the house, looking back over her shoulder with a smile. Once again he saw the child she had been for a split second.

Ah, how he missed those days…


	25. Chapter 24

**Little Bird**

Chapter 24

The rest of Kaen's remaining days in her family's home went by in a flash, full of packing, receiving farewell gifts, repacking to fit the gifts she was going to take with her, unpacking to make sure that she had everything, then repacking _again_. And now her mother wanted to take her to have her hair done up in a traditional unmarried woman's hairstyle before she left, and Kaen still wanted to go see Jin and Bear before she left.

In truth, she felt a little guilty about how her relationship with her friends had been changing. After she had fought with her mother, Kaen had been distancing herself from the European who had once been so enthralling to her. She had grown out of her brief affection for him, but wasn't sure he had done the same… Either way, both boys had been neglected over the past two months, and Kaen wanted to at least get a chance to say goodbye before she left.

Her walk to the docks went quickly, not meeting anybody she wanted to talk to until she saw a familiar mop of pale hair.

Smiling wickedly, she crept up behind him and jumped on his back as she had always done, but knew something was different this time when he didn't laugh and toss her off. Oh, he tossed her and smiled, but he seemed unwilling to laugh with her or touch her.

"Bear?"

The tall boy looked a little past her, his eyes carefully avoiding hers.

"I'm sorry that I haven't come around very often, it's just… I'm surprised how hard it is to learn German, and pack… Lots to do, and not a lot of time to do it, you know?"

Bear nodded, understanding what she said, but still didn't look at her.

"So, what do you want now, Kaen?"

Kaen reeled at the cool voice he spoke with now, each cold word hitting her like one of the practice sword her brother and mother wielded so effectively. She shook her head, reaching out to grab his sleeve. He pulled his arm out of range and took a step back.

"I asked you what you wanted."

Kaen balled up her fists until her fingernails bit into her palms, making them bleed. She held back her anger even as rage boiled in her chest. Is that what he thought their friendship was about? Her taking whatever she wanted and never giving anything back? Yes, he had done her a few favors in the past (one including a very painful encounter with the owner of a fishing boat), but she had always paid him back…

"If you aren't going to answer me, I'm leaving."

She watched as her friend turned away from her and walked away, not even glancing over his shoulder once. Now that he wasn't looking, Kaen let herself sag a little and looked around for a place that she couldn't be seen. A place to cry without having to answer any questions…

"Kaen?"

She didn't have to look over her shoulder to know that Jin was coming toward her, no doubt almost running to catch up to her, as she had set off in a sprint in whatever direction she had been facing.

"Kaen, wait! Stop!"

She kept running toward the shadier part of town, almost straight to the house her friends Hiroshi and Yuka worked at. Jin didn't leave this time, even while his eyes scanned the people lining the street. Then, just as expected, she turned into the brightly lit house that Jin had refused to enter before.

"Please… Is Yuka available? Or Hiroshi?"

The old woman on the stool sent a maid up and looked at the redhead with concern. Her eyes turned to Jin, who became very still.

"Boy. What is this about?"

"I don't know."

Yuka and Hiroshi came down the stairs, then stopped. They had seen their friend angry, they had seen her sad, but they had never seen the look that she wore now. A look that was somewhere between despair and rage.

"Come inside little sister. Yuka, have a maid bring tea."

Jin followed the small group inside, sitting away from them.

"I only… I came to say goodbye Jin. That's all. Please go."

Jin let out a sigh, then left without a word, pausing once to glance at her just before the door rolled shut.


	26. Chapter 25

**Little Bird**

Chapter 25

Kaen sat down across from Hiroshi, her face pointed toward the floor again. The man had never heard her voice as cold as it had been when she had told her friend to leave. Had something happened? Dare he ask?

"The maid will be up in a moment."

Yuka came in and slid the door carefully shut, her worried eyes never leaving the redhead.

"Kaen… What's wrong?"

Hiroshi watched as Yuka seated herself close to Kaen, faintly surprised in spite of the mood of the room that she hadn't lit her pipe.

"It… It's just Bear and Jin. I went to say goodbye to them, I leave the day after tomorrow. Bear, he acted like he didn't even care that I was leaving. He even had the audacity to say 'what do you want now, Kaen?' like I was going to ask him for something! And now I've gone and gotten Jin upset… He just wanted to help, and I-"

Hiroshi looked around for a handkerchief, knowing that Kaen would be needing one any second now. Her little hiccups had graduated to nearly full-blown sobs, and he knew she hated to cry in front of anybody but her father.

"Blew up at him."

"Uh-huh…"

Hiroshi looked over to see Yuka reaching over and wiping her friend's cheeks once with her own sleeve, then carefully pull a yellow handkerchief from her obi and hand it to the redhead. Hiroshi opened his mouth to change the subject, but was silenced by a glare from Yuka. The other girl knew that Kaen needed to get everything out before the subject could be safely changed.

"I didn't mean to. He was always nicer and seemed to get what I was thinking better than Bear ever did… Once, when I had a really bad cold, he brought me a packet of tea that he said would make me feel better every day. I still have no idea what was in it. I always thought they were both my best friends, but what if… What if Jin is the real friend?"

"Bear does sound like he was being very… unfair."

Hiroshi's carefully chosen words seemed to calm Kaen better than Yuka's comforting hand on hers. She raised her head, wiping her red eyes and sniffling, then flashed her friends a watery smile.

"I'll write and apologize to Jin when I'm gone."

Yuka nodded and looked at the tray that the maid had dropped off just inside the door, then motioned for Hiroshi to pour some. When he had served all three of them, she stopped Kaen before she took a sip, flicking her eyes toward their friend. The redhead looked over just in time to see Hiroshi take a big sip, then spit the liquid back into his cup, grimacing.

"Ugh, it's stone cold!"

Kaen laughed in surprise, glad that Yuka had stopped her. She knew what cold tea tasted like, and wasn't keen on drinking it again anytime soon.

After another hour, Kaen excused herself, thanking her friends and promising to write to them as often as she could.

Only one more day of being at home… Then it was goodbye, for now.

A/N

Hey there everybody! Thanks for sticking with this story (which has become WAY longer than I had originally thought it would!) and sending your reviews! I hope you all had a great holiday!


	27. Chapter 26

**Little Bird**

Chapter 26

Kaen walked beside her mother all the way to the hairdresser's, her eyes never leaving the ground. Even stranger was the fact that she had not spoken except to give short answers when her family asked questions.

"You're quiet today."

Kaen couldn't help be smile slightly when Kaoru spoke. Usually her mother was shushing her, not trying to make her talk. She had to admit, she really did like to talk…

"Did something happen yesterday, Kaen?"

Kaen bit her lip, nodding. She heard Kaoru sigh and clear her throat.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Kaen looked down at the box in her hand that held the hairpin that her mother had given her as well as a dark wooden comb that had been a gift from Megumi.

"I fought with Bear and then yelled at Jin. I feel really bad about it, but Bear is the one that started everything."

She spat the story out, her hands occasionally clenching into fists, but left out the fact that she had went straight to her friends in the pleasure quarter. Her mother knew of Hiroshi and Yuka, but she didn't want a fight today.

Kaoru said little to her daughter while they sat waiting for a hairdresser to be available to fix Kaen's hair into a shimada. The redhead watched the women running around, some with hair up in elaborate hairstyles, others with their hair in married woman's styles, and a few in a widow's style. She turned and smiled at her mother, then got up when one of the hairdressers beckoned to her.

As the old woman dragged her nails through Kaen's hair and scrubbed at her scalp, she cackled and talked. Kaen said little, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would give voice to her discomfort.

'_Owowowowowowowowow! How do people do this?! She's going to tear my hair clean off!'_

When the old woman finally satisfied herself with the violent scrubbing, she began to yank a heavy comb through her long red hair. Kaen felt tears leak into her eyes as she pulled against the woman, biting her cheek to keep from crying out. As the woman shaped her hair, Kaen finally got some relief. The woman's dry old hands skillfully wove her hair and secured it with the long pin and comb that Kaoru handed her.

When it was all over, Kaen stood and swayed a little. Not only had her feet gone to sleep, but her head felt like a ten pound stone had been tied on top of it. But it was worth it when her mother smiled at her, her eyes a little brighter than they usually were.

"Wait until your father sees you."

They walked home slowly in companionable silence. Just as both women had expected, the whole group was there. All three of Kaen's brothers, Sano and Megumi, Yahiko, Tsubame, Tae, Jin and a few other of Kaen's friends from her kendo classes were waiting for them. There was food spread over cloths on low tables that had been placed outside, most of it being from Akabeko.

As time passed and everybody ate and drank, Kaen slipped off to check her trunks again. She lifted the lid of the trunk that held her clothes and lifted the two western dresses that her family had bought and smiled. Tomorrow she would be on the train an then her travels across the ocean to the outside world. She didn't hear her father come in and lean on the wall.

"You looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Yeah. But I'm a little nervous too."

"I'll be there until you get on the boat. And remember that if you want to, you can come home whenever you need."

Kaen smiled and nodded as she tucked the dresses back into the trunk and turned to her father.

"I guess we should go back out, or we'll be missed."

"That is a good idea, little bird. We'll be getting up early tomorrow, so we'll want to turn in early."

After night fell, Kaen went to bed, leaving all the adults to smile sadly at each other.


	28. Chapter 27

Little Brid

**Little Bird**

Chapter 27

Kaen blinked slowly when she felt a hand shake her shoulder. She groaned and looked up to see her mother walking out of her room, closing the door behind her.

'_Oh right, today I have to go…'_

Kaen lifted her head off the special pillow that held her hair up off the bedding. Wincing, she sat up and rubbed the back of her neck.

_'Okay, I'm never sleeping with this thing again. I'm taking my hair down and sleeping like a normal person tonight…'_

With a groan she stood and picked up her clothes and made her way to the bathhouse, not really surprised to find that her father was already awake.

"Hurry up and take your bath. We're meeting Yutaro and his family at the train station in two hours, and I want you to eat something before we go."

Kaen rolled her eyes and stumbled past, grumbling incoherently and yawning. Kenshin watched as she left, her neatly styled hair looking out of place on the usually disheveled girl. He wondered if Yutaro would be giving her a big room or a small one… then he shook his head and returned to the wrapping of the rice balls.

Kaen sat in the warm water, absently rubbing her arms and looking at her hands under the water. Today was the day… The last time she would see her family for nearly three years, and still… She wasn't as nervous as she had thought she would have been.

_'I suppose it's because the decision's been made.'_

With a sigh, she splashed her face with the water and climbed up out of the tub and dried off quickly, shrugging on her yukata and tying her hakama in a few practiced movements. She turned and opened the door with a shaking hand and stepped into the bright sunlight. Waiting for her was her youngest brother, but rather than smile and run to her for a greeting, the little boy looked at her for only a moment before turning and running for the dojo.

_Oh, little Asuma. You'll forgive me someday for leaving… I hope._

She sighed and walked into the house, her eyes trained to the floor. Kenshin saw her downcast face and the smile he had quickly pasted on when he had seen her coming slid off. He put down the small tray of soup and rice, something that would be less taxing on her stomach on the train and boat, and took a slow step toward her. To his surprise, she walked past him and sat down next to her food and began to eat, her eyes never leaving her bowl.

"Are you alright little bird?"

"I'm fine Daddy. I assume Mother and the boys are in the dojo?"

Kenshin nodded when she looked up at him. She nodded and took a few more bites of rice and downed her soup before standing up and smoothing her sleeves.

"So, are you ready?"

"Go say goodbye to your mother and brothers. I'll meet you outside with your things."

"Alright."

She walked quickly to the dojo and bowed respectfully to the room before entering, her eyes moving from her mother to her brothers. Ken lifted his facemask and looked at her sadly and nodded. Genro and Asuma lowered their wooden weapons and looked at their sister with blank faces. Kaoru was the first to break the silence.

"Ah, are you getting ready to go Kaen?"

"Yes."

"We'll miss you."

Kaen bowed uneasily to her mother, then to her brothers. When she turned away to leave, Asuma howled and threw himself at his beloved sister. Kaen stumbled and slammed to her knees, gritting her teeth as her kneecaps met the hard wood floor.

"Don't go! Don't go, Kaen! Don't go!"

Kaen looked over her shoulder to see her youngest brother sobbing and clinging to her leg. She turned slightly and pulled the boy into her lap and looked up to see her mother and brothers walking out, giving her small smiles as they filed past.

_They're giving me time to talk to Asuma…_

"Asuma…"

The boy looked up at her with huge tear-filled eyes, his round cheeks red. The redhead absently wiped the tears off his cheeks and tucked him close to her chest, like when he was really little, rocking back and forth gently. The little boy buried his face in her chest and cried even harder for a moment, then slowed down to a hiccup. Finally, she set him on his feet and rose to her knees, looking him in the eyes.

"Asuma, I said that I would go. I want to go."

"You won't come back though…"

"Of course I'll come back. And I will write to you all as often as I can. And the best part is, when I'm gone, you get to think of all new ways to make me insane when I get back."

Asuma thought about her words for a moment then sniffed and wiped nose on his sleeve. Kaen smiled and ruffled her brother's hair, earning her a little giggle. Standing, she led Asuma out of the dojo to where her mother and brothers waited with her father and Sano by the two trunks and her shamisen in it's case.

"Well little bird, it's time to go."

Sano hiked one trunk up onto his shoulder and waited as Kenshin lifted the other one, and Kaen lifted her shamisen and a small cloth bag that held a snack for on the train. With one last look back at her mother and brothers, she followed her father and adopted uncle down the road.

_Goodbye…_

A/N

Whew. Sorry that there has been such a…er…gap in this story. There have been lots of issues, some with health, others not, but I am back!! Sorry that this is a hanger… I will update soon. Promise!

Please review! Much love!

Deception'sChosen


	29. Chapter 28

Little Bird

**Little Bird**

Chapter 28

On the ship, Kaen sat between Yutaro and Shinta, unsure of what she should do. Yahiko had warned her to always either have a bucket on hand or be standing near the railing when traveling by sea. She had laughed, but when Sano agreed, she decided that they had to be right.

So far, there had been no sign of seasickness, but Kaen was listless. She had watched as her father and 'uncle' had stood at the dock, watching her go. She hadn't seen it, but both men had tears running down their faces. She hadn't cried then, but as soon as she couldn't see the dock clearly, she had started to shake. Then when she went to lie down for the night with Heidi, the floodgates burst. Her tears were completely silent, but Heidi knew that they were there and went to fetch her mother. When they got back to their cabin, Kaen was gone.

They had found Kaen after a few minutes of panic, the girl had moved out onto the deck. The sailors had kept an eye on her as she sat with her forehead against the rail, her eyes still leaking tears as they watched the horizon.

_'Too late now. I have to keep going.'_

Most of the boat ride went by uneventfully for everybody, Yutaro and Gretchen teaching Kaen more German while the ship's cook taught her how to fish and sometimes letting her help him to prepare the meals. A few of the sailors were origionally from Japan, and they all sometimes sat with her and talked in their own language and told the old stories in the old way, keeping time by tapping their fingers against the deck. During these times, Yutaro would join them, but his wife and children didn't. Kaen wasn't sure if it was because they were trying to give them private space or if they were perhaps uneasy with the sailors.

Once she, Shinta, Heidi and a handful of other children and teenagers begged and pleaded with a few of the sailors until they were allowed to jump over the sides of the boat into the sea after the captain shut off the engine and gave the word. They had shouted and splashed around for nearly an hour before they were told to climb up a rope ladder onto the deck. By that time, Yutaro had joined them along with a few more adults. Kaen was the only one out in a borrowed swimsuit. The garment came from Gretchen, who was much bustier than the little Japanese girl, but they knotted the straps until it stayed snug enough to swim.

It was on that ship that Kaen caught sight of her first Frenchman, a tall mousy man with long muscles like the other sailors. His dark hair was cut short and tied into a low ponytail while his beard, a small pointy thing that clung to the end of his pointed chin, was meticulously combed and oiled. Even his eyes were dark and oily. His eyes always followed Kaen whenever he came across the redhead, and she was quite sure that he watched her in other places too.

He was the first foreigner that she wanted to stay away from.

Germany was a busy place. Kaen had to hold on to Gretchen's sleeve to avoid being left behind in the crowds. She stopped for a moment to readjust her grip on her shamisen case and when she looked up, she couldn't see any of her party. A moment of panic came over her before she saw Shinta come running toward her, his face red.

"Where did you go?!"

Kaen looked at the boy and made a face, taking her time and adjusting her kimono sleeves before answering in her most formal Japanese that Yuka had taught her.

"So sorry, I paused to attempt to find a more appropriate handhold on my luggage and you proceeded with your company without thought for your foreign guest."

Shinta's eyes narrowed. He knew what she had said, but he was not sure if she had been making fun of him or if she just was a little addled from the change on scenery. When they were in the car, Kaen fell silent and watched as the people and buildings sped by. The huge house that they stopped in front of took her breath away. There were flowering trees and bushes by the house, a fountain in the front yard and a few small outbuildings. She was eager to explore, but she was first supposed to unpack her things and get settled in. She had lots of time to look around and get aquainted with the house she would be spending the next two and a half years in later.

Kaen was given a big room with a huge bed, a mirror over a vanity, two bookshelves, fine rugs… things that she had never even seen in her home in Japan were now everywhere. Without waiting to unpack her biggest luggage, she sat down at the writing desk and pulled a pen and a piece of paper to her and began to write. Gretchen had promised that after the red haired girl got unpacked and washed up, she would take her and Heidi shopping for new school things.

With a sigh, Kaen wrote herself a reminder to do a few things when she got back from shopping and walked out of the room.

Outside was Heidi, already in her favorite blue dress and looking up at her new housemate expectantly.

"You're going to wear a kimono?"

"Yes. This is the first time I'll be the foreigner, and I want to do it right!"

The girls laughed and Heidi followed her back into her room and watched as she changed into a grey-green kimono and a black obi with bronze maple leaves embroidered on it.

The girl giggled and took the older girl's hand, leading the way downstairs and outside. Kaen's head was spinning, but she smiled.

She was finally here.


	30. Chapter 29

_I still own nothing. I am really sorry that I have not been writing everybody. I've been very sick and have spent most of my time in a hospital bed. I'm finally on the mend and will be updating regularly again. I hope that you will still read and enjoy the story._

_Thank you again._

Chapter 29

Himura Kaen stood outside her new school, her waist tied snugly into a leaf green dress with long narrow sleeves, a matching parasol in her hand and her feet buckled into shiny black shoes. Her hair had been combed into a high ponytail and tied with a ribbon that was a few shades darker than her dress. Gretchen had brushed some blush they had purchased onto Kaen's cheeks and her lips were painted with the lip rouge that they had bought the same day. She felt strange wearing it, her mother had never allowed her to wear makeup.

"Come on, Kaen. I will walk you to your first class. I'm here for art classes, so I won't be with you, but I'll meet you here during the lunch hour."

Kaen nodded, keeping her mouth tightly shut, worried that if she opened it, she would throw up out of sheer nerves. Shinta's constant flow of encouragement helped buoy her failing spirit, but it still didn't feel like she could handle the day ahead…

As they walked, Kaen couldn't help but feel like every person that they passed was staring at her. She knew that she was the foreigner here, and wondered how many of them thought, like her mother did, that their home country should be for their own kind…

"Don't worry Kaen, pretty much everybody here will like you."

Kaen nodded and adjusted her grip on the bag that held her dance clothes. Her first class was in ballet, a dance she had seen before, but never thought that she would be learning how to do it. She looked at the door for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening the door, trying to emulate her Uncle Sano.

Most of the students looked up when they heard the door open and a small girl walk in, then swagger her way to one of the instructors. The students giggled and the redhead newcomer blushed dark red and went still. The instructor pointed to the changing room and the girl ducked out of sight.

When the redhead came out in her dance clothes, a few students, one boy and two girls, came over with smiles on their faces. The girls wore identical grey and blue outfits and the boy wore black and grey. The first girl was a good deal taller than Kaen, with knobby knees and long blonde hair that was braided and twisted around her head. The second was shorter and rounder, with a baby face and a lot of freckles, with a stringy mop of brown hair that was knotted at the back of her head. The boy was about the same height as Kaen, with a wild tangle of black hair and smiling blue eyes.

The blonde girl spoke first.

"I'm Karin. This is my cousin Alice. He's Erik. What's your name? How old are you? Have you ever danced ballet before? Where did you say you were from? Japan, right? Do you really eat raw fish on rice?"

"Are you going to let her answer any time soon Karin?"

Kaen nodded once at Erik, who smirked and pushed back a shock of hair. She was smiling when she saw Karin look down at her feet and mutter an apology. Kaen's hair swung over her shoulder as she bowed, introducing herself and trying to remember whose name was whose.

"I'm fourteen, and – "

Karin's face lit up and she darted forward again.

"Oh, me too! When is your birthday? I was born on the fifth of January."

She paused when she saw Kaen's patient smile, her cheeks turning pink again.

"I'm sorry, I just…right… sorry…"

Kaen smiled wider and laughed lightly, deciding that maybe she would be alright here. She answered every question that was asked, and even agreed to show the class what some traditional Japanese dancing looked like.

When is came time for her to go to her next class, not a class that was inclusive of the performing arts at all, but rather literature, Kaen was saddened to see Shinta only in passing in the halls. However, Karin happily took her hand and led her to the next class, talking the whole way there. She even walked Kaen to the car that she and Shinta would be going home in.

"See if you can come over next week! My younger sister's birthday party is on Friday, and maybe you can stay over!"

That night, after she had finished the assignments and ate dinner with Shinta and his family, she got her writing supplies and sat down at her desk. She wet her brush, glad that she had brought it along with her ink and some long sheaves of paper.

_Tuesday September 15, _____

_Hello everyone!_

_Today was my first day of classes, and I'm really pleased to say that they seem to be alright. I met a few girls that seem to like me well enough, and one who I think I'll never be able to get rid of! She's very nice and likes to talk a lot. She's in almost all of my classes! Her name is Karin Frederic. She'll be turning 15 in January. I will send money in my next letter and I would like to ask a favor._

_If somebody could please buy a plum blossom hair pin, I would really like that. I would be giving it to Karin as a gift, and I think that she would really like that. She invited me to go to her house next week, and Gretchen said that I should go. Yutaro says that if I go, he will have a car ready if I need to come home, and tells you not to worry._

_How are all of you doing? Has Genro started teaching the new students at the dojo yet? And what of Ken and Asuma? And Yahiko… How are things going with him and Tsubame? Megumi wrote to me saying that she and Sano finally got married! I already wrote back with my congratulations. I'm so excited for them!_

_I'm getting even better at speaking German. Apparently I have quite the accent, because I have to repeat myself often. Karin and the others asked me to say something in Japanese, and they looked so confused when I talked that I laughed so hard I thought that my dress would tear! I asked them if they would be so kind to please show me the way to the library. Apparently they find our language is very complicated and quick to them._

_Your Singing Bird,_

_Kaen_


	31. Chapter 30

**Little Bird**

Chapter 30

As days melted into weeks and weeks into months, Kaen made a few more friends and became one of the most accomplished students in her music classes. She had been disappointed when she discovered that the fue and her shamisen weren't going to be very helpful in her classes, but soon discovered that she was more than adept with a flute and began to take lessons in piano. The flute was not as difficult because she had been taught how to play her grandfather's fue, but at first the vast number of holes in the long shiny metal instrument had made her nervous.

Piano was a whole different kettle of fish though. She had to remember that one hand moved one way while the other went the other, and on top of that she had to press pedals that changed the pitches that the black and white keys played. During her second month of lessons, she lost her temper and slammed her hands down on the keys, producing a painful jangle of notes bending three of her fingernails back. After she had finished swearing in first Japanese, then German, then French, she took a deep breath and stalked out of the room after giving the huge instrument a dirty look.

Soon she was back and practicing again, her face set in a mask of determination. She would learn this, and she would learn it well.

After her one year seven months, Kaen sat alone in her room, waiting for the rest of the family to rise. It was still dark and as far as she knew, even the servants hadn't woke yet. She smiled and quickly dressed in a yukata and hakama, tied her hair back and slipped out of the room. The hall was chilly and dark. Blinking rapidly, Kaen waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and soon was walking to the stairs. There was an old broom handle that she used for her meditation at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the rail. She scooped up the pole and eased out the front door, heading to her usual place behind the house where there were fewer things to run into.

First she took her deep breath, holding herself straight and still. Then she raised the pole like it was one of the practice swords that she and her father had used when they would do this at home. She smiled at the thought of her father and swung the wooden 'blade' slowly, imagining the reed posts that she had practiced on when her mother had taught her how to use a sword. As she moved, she felt sweat running off her face and down her chest. When she had taught Shinta and a few of her friends these exercises, her students had been shocked to find how difficult the slow movements were. When she began to speed up, many had backed off to just watch and pant wearily.

As the sun began to rise, and Kaen walked back into the house, being careful to wipe her feet on a towel to get the mud off the soles of her bare feet. The maids had fits when she forgot and left trails of muddy prints all the way to the bathroom.

Hanging on a post was the long robe that she intended to wear after her bath until she got back to her room to dress. She and Shinta were going to see a play today, and she wanted to look at least reasonable. Gretchen would make her stand for a photo, and Kaen found that if she tried to make herself look nice, the woman would fuss less and the pain would pass quickly.

Well, that wasn't really the only reason…

She had gotten a letter from Jin a few weeks ago saying that he was going to be coming for a visit in June, and he wanted to spend some time with her and see how her time with the foreigners had changed her. She had laughed and written back that she would be thrilled to see him and that she and Shinta would meet him at the docks on the 16th, the day he was set to arrive. When she reread the letter, she noticed something that she had never seen before. She looked back over her other letters, one for her family and one for Yukako and Hiroshi, she saw it again.

Whenever she mentioned herself, she often referred to Yutaro's son in the same breath. Usually she didn't have much to say about herself alone, but when she talked about the things that she and Shinta would do, she would go on forever… She had shrugged it off then, but since then, she started to notice the way they acted when they were together.

The hot water of the bath relaxed her tired muscles and she let herself think about what the next week would hold for her. Today she would go to the theatre with Shinta, Karin and Erik. The two Germans had recently become an item, and Kaen was often treated to long discussions about Erik and Karin's relationship… As seen by Karin. The blond had grown into her height, and was actually very pretty in Kaen's opinion, especially when she pulled her hair back and secured with the plum blossom hair pin that she had bought for her, even when it was, at least by Kaen's calendar, out of season. After the theatre, they would go for coffee and walk around town. Then on Tuesday they would be going cliff climbing. This made her nervous, but she was sure that she would be fine.

Shinta had been busy with his other classes reciently. He had stopped going to the school that Kaen attended and had gone to another, where he studied medicine. He had blushed furiously when she had forced him to stand for a picture to send to her family, using the camera that they had sent her as a gift only a few weeks before. She had sent the photo to her family, who were careful to congratulate him in their next letter. Megumi sent a note of her own congratulations and a few words of professional advice.

With a sigh, she lifted herself out of the deep tub and dried herself, wrapping her hair up in a towel before pulling on the robe and tying it tightly shut. She smiled when she heard the rest of the house starting to wake up, walking quickly into her room and shutting the door. She would need help from little Heidi to get herself tied into her dress, so she took her clothes into Heidi's room when she heard her say she could come in.

"Oh, Heidi. You don't need to get dressed yet! What are you doing?"

Heidi had already pulled on as much of her dress as she could by herself and was looking at the rest of it with resignation.

"Mama said that we had to go shopping this morning, her and I."

"Ah. Well here, I'll help you and then you can help me. Then I'll braid your hair for you."

After much pulling and squeals, Heidi was tied and hooked and buckled into a dress of dark brown that made her skin look pale and bright under her hair. Kaen smiled and put on her own dress, holding still so the younger girl could tug and pull to her satisfaction until she was secured into her heavy powdery green outfit.

"I'll never get used to these things…"

"You don't gasp for air as much as you used to."

"I suppose it's a step. Now sit, and I'll do your hair."

Once the girl and her mother were gone, Kaen asked Martha, one of her favorite maids, to do something with her hair and the shoes she had forgotten to put on. The maid had tried one thing after another with her hair, but finally curled it and pinned it carefully into a bun and pulled a few tendrils of hair out so they fell about her face and neck. She smiled and buckled Kaen's shoes with a small chuckle.

"You know, I'm glad you and young master get along so well."

"Me too. He's a very good friend."

Kaen looked in the mirror and sighed. Her skin was still light and her hair was still bright red and her eyes the same shade of violet that they had been when she left home, but the rest of her had changed. Her hips had widened a bit and her bust had increased considerably, though compared to her European friends, she was as flat as a board all around. She was always jealous of their round-narrow-round shapes, but they always countered that her willowy shape was far prettier. She didn't believe them.

She brushed on a little makeup and added a drop of perfume before sweeping down the stairs. She looked out the window and smiled to see that Shinta was pulling up the drive with their friends. She had been sad when he moved out to live in the dorms of his school but was comforted when he visited at least twice a week. It had been like that for a little less than a year. She ran out the door and was greeted by Shinta stepping out of the car and smiling, holding out his arms.

She hugged him and waved to her friends as they walked around the car where Shinta opened the door and Kaen was all but yanked in by Karin. The whole ride, Karin had whispered questions and loudly told her opinion on Kaen's 'status' with Shinta. The half Japanese glared over his shoulder and told Erik to put a leash on his girlfriend, half joking, half deadly serious.

"We're friends, Karin. You know that. You're just trying to annoy him."

"Why shouldn't I bother the big important doctor? He's been after you from the beginning!"

"Karin!"

"What?"

Kaen sighed and steered the conversation toward a new direction. The conversation, now on the workings of their classes, lasted until they got to the theatre. Karin and Erik walked ahead of them, hand in hand. Shinta brushed a hand through his hair and leaned down to whisper so Karin wouldn't hear.

"I have to talk to you later. I'll take you home after Karin and Erik leave us. Do me a favor and don't tell Karin that I want to talk to you, I don't think I could handle the implications."

He smiled, showing that he was only joking about the venom in his voice. Kaen nodded and smiled conspiratorially and walked into the theatre. The lights went down in the house and soon she was lost in the story of three sisters and their search for husbands.


End file.
